


Future Reincarnation of a Lost Love 2

by Believer



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-05 04:46:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 60,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17912282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Believer/pseuds/Believer
Summary: This is about Spencer being turned into a vampire and where he meets his mate some years later. He wants the others to meet her and gets the opportunity when he is contacted about meeting his friends at an exotic locale to spend a few weeks together, seeing the sights. Hotch and Persephone as well is Dave and Penelope are also major characters. The characters of Rosa and Persephone are mine.





	1. Chapter 1

Future Reincarnation of a Lost Love

2

This is a sequel to my original story that was actually started more than two years ago, right after the first one. Unfortunately, as happens far to often I got writer's block, that held for a long time. One day a few months back I went back and reread what I had written and I managed to add to what was already there, until finally I managed to finish it. This is something I'm quite proud o as usually a story that is so old never gets finished, but occasionally it does happen. Please leave plenty of positive reviews, but if you read this and genuinely don't like then the least you can do is be constructive in your criticism instead of just writing something negative and nasty just because you can and you like to tear others down.

Let me remind everyone that this is a work of fiction and is not meant to be based on anything real, not even really on the shows timeline. If you are expecting that then I suggest you don't read it, because this comes straight out of my imagination and is based on my favorite characters. I suggest you read the first one if you have not already read it or this one will make a lot less sense.

Beliver76

Part 1

200 years later

Penelope whistled cheerfully finding it hard to believe that she and Dave had been together for over 200 years, as the decades had passed incredibly fast. Both of them had continued to work with the BAU for another 50 years before they retired and in those 50 years they'd had over 30 children as they had multiples every single time. This was something that Dave had found astonishing, because having werewolf blood or not before she was changed still did not explain exactly why they kept having twins or triplets. They had finally decided that it was because Penelope was a witch and that she still had her powers despite now being a vampire, even though she rarely used them, that was the cause of it. It didn't really matter because multiples might be extremely rare for a vampire to have, but that did not mean that it did not happen sometimes. In the decades since her and Dave's retirement from the BAU they'd had another 140 children to make a total of 263 altogether as they came along every few years, as normally somewhere between three to five years would pass before they'd have their next set of multiples, which was normally twins and a few times triplets.

She and Dave had been very happy together for over two centuries and had traveled in Italy after their retirement and only come back to the States in the last 20 years after living in Italy for more than 100. Penelope had finally met Dave's mother and father and quite a few of his siblings and they had met her and the two of them had spent quite awhile with Dave's family before moving on.

Also in the two centuries they had been together Dave had showered her with expensive gifts particularly for her birthday, anniversary, Valentine's Day and also each time she got pregnant. Her mate never missed a trick, but of course neither did she and she also bought him expensive gifts now that she had the funds for it.

In the last 200 years they had adopted quite a few werewolf children that nobody wanted because of their condition, usually when they were in between having children of their own. Sometimes though it happened when they were in the midst of having them or already had, so when you counted those, the children they'd had was closer to 300 and all those children had decided to be turned into vampires once they had reached the age of 35. Those children would have been reviled if people discovered what they were and they'd rather live forever and be a little bit more accepted into society then hated and Penelope and Dave could certainly understand their decision. She and Dave were both happy to turn their children that were not born vampires, so that they would never lose them to death and every single one of her and Dave's children whether adopted or born to them visited their parents frequently and she and Dave were always happy to see them.

Penelope thought about her sister and Aaron and how they kept in contact with her and Dave and that made her happy for most of her siblings had died a few decades ago and although she still visited their children and grandchildren frequently, she still missed every single one of her brothers and sisters, which was only natural she knew.

Penelope continued to get ready for the date that Dave was taking her out on tonight, so she picked out a slinky navy blue dinner dress and slipped it over her body and picked out appropriate jewelry that had sapphires instead of her favorite rubies. Penelope now had the Rossi crest with every single gem that was in existence, so that she could accessorize with whatever she was wearing. She had necklaces, rings and bracelets with not only rubies, but emerald, sapphires, opals, pearls, jade, alexandrite, amber, aquamarine, carnelian, diamond, garnet, hematite, lapis lazuli, jasper, onyx, peridot, various colors of tourmaline, turquoise and tanzanite. She now could honestly say that she had so much jewelry that she had three large jewelry boxes full and most of it was worth a fortune, but at the very least she could now accessorize with whatever she wore. She really loved all the jewelry that Dave had given her, she only wished that he didn't shower her with so much of it, as there had to be close to $10 million in just what she had in jewelry alone. And that didn't even include all her very expensive clothes from name brands that she had never been able to afford more than the occasional outfit or one of their handbags as her clothes were all designer now. Well, there was nothing she could do about it, as there was no point in arguing with Dave, so she didn't bother to try, since she'd never win anyway and even though she loved every single thing that Dave had given her that didn't mean she needed them to be happy. She did appreciate the fact that Dave was always thoughtful and that he usually had flowers for her at least once a month and that he didn't buy her jewelry, except for things like birthdays and anniversaries, but when you had been together for 200 years well she still had an enormous amount of it

"Ready to go, kitten?" Dave asked, as he came into the bedroom from where his mate had been getting ready. "You look absolutely gorgeous," Dave told her looking at his mate appreciatively and indeed she did, with her blond hair pinned up on the top of her head just a couple of tendrils escaping on either side to hang down just in front of her ears, her beautiful brown eyes no longer needing glasses to see clearly and hadn't ever since she had been turned into a vampire two centuries before. The two of them complemented each other for Penelope was just a right height to fit comfortably under his chin when he held her in his arms and he was handsome while Penelope was gorgeous, though he knew his wife would disagree with that statement. She would reverse it he knew and say that he was gorgeous while she was merely pretty. However, since he wasn't going argue the point out loud he made sure that his appreciation of his wife's body was obvious in his gaze, whenever he looked at her. He never wanted her to believe for a second that he didn't adore her and love her so deeply that he knew he would never stop for as long as he lived. He knew that Penelope still had doubts about how he felt about her despite her previous incarnations memories and their 200 years together and he had no idea what to do to banish those doubts completely, although he knew it came from the fact that women tended to drape themselves all over him, even when he never asked for it. It wasn't that Penelope doubted his loyalty to her, because thanks to the mate bond his wife knew that he would never love anyone else in that way. He knew that it just annoyed her that women continued to try to get his attention, even when she was with him and even though he got rid of them usually pretty quickly. Of course Penelope didn't realize that men tended to look at her appreciatively as well and had even tried to approach her a few times, but he usually just glared at them when Penelope wasn't looking and they backed off quickly. Of course, when he wasn't with her it was a different matter entirely.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going? And why we had to get all dressed up?" asked Penelope.

"Can't I take my gorgeous wife out of the date without her questioning my motives?" Dave asked neatly sidestepping the question.

"It's not your motives I question, as I know very well what goes through your head all the time," Penelope told Dave who chuckled because it was true. "It's the fact that you feel as if you have to surprise me, when I'd just rather know where we are going."

"You should be used to surprises by now," Dave said.

"I should be," Penelope agreed kissing his cheek. "It doesn't mean however, that I like to be surprised."

"The only reason you don't like to be surprised is, because you like to know everything, since you are the goddess of information. You hate the anticipation of waiting for the surprise to arrive, which is another reason why you hate them," Dave said.

Dave had her pegged, but then that wasn't really surprising considering that they had known each other for two centuries and he had been a profiler and the skills didn't disappear just because you stopped using them every day. Really, profiling was just part of him and he was likely always profiling people silently without really meaning to, as it's not like he could turn it off, so he never got out of practice. Really, it as just observing people and how they interacted with others and it had alerted them to trouble more then once over the years.

"It won't be long before it won't be a surprise anymore and the anticipation will be worth it," Dave added. "A little anticipation never killed anyone."

"So says you," Penelope said arguing with him playfully, as she wasn't really mad at him, but then again you couldn't stay mad at David Rossi for very long or at least she couldn't as she loved him too much. Besides, every couple argued, even mates and for her and Dave they were mostly not too serious and often playful which led to then having some spectacular sex.

"You'll survive," Dave said grinning a little, as he enjoyed these little arguments with his Penelope.

"So whose car we taking tonight? Mine or yours?" Penelope asked for she really did love the little red sports car that Dave had given her for their anniversary a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, cars did have to be replaced every five or six years, so she'd had a series of cars over the centuries all red. This one though was truly spectacular and was painted a dark red and she loved how it handled so easily and how she could go from 0 to 300 miles an hour all in the space of 10 seconds flat. Of course, the only time she used the full speed was out on the back roads where there were hardly ever any cars and due to her vampire reflexes she had never crashed into a tree. If she did happen to see another car she could avoid it easily, because for one thing all cars nowadays had a hover feature and most traffic in this century was up in the sky instead of on solid ground.

Dave easily heard the eagerness in his mate's voice and so said, "We can take yours if you like."

"Good," Penelope said in satisfaction, as she hugged him quickly and kissed his cheek hurrying to the garage where her beautiful dark red Porsche was stored, Dave joining her momentarily.

"You really like your anniversary present huh?" Dave asked with smug satisfaction in his voice.

"You know I do," Penelope told him with a grin. "I never owned anything so fancy before you and I met. There's no way I could have afforded something like a Mustang or a Porsche or a Ferrari, not on my salary with the FBI, not even with my extra income of selling potions on the side."

"You really need to be a vampire to use a machine like this to its full capabilities," Dave said climbing into the driver's seat.

"You need to be a vampire to have the reflexes not to crash if you do use the full capabilities," Penelope corrected.

"I stand corrected," Dave said with a grin, as he started the engine.

The two of them continued to banter playfully, as Dave drove to their destination and it was fifteen minutes later when Penelope realized where they were going, when they were only a few blocks away.

"How did you get tickets to this Leighann Sullivan's art show?" Penelope asked her mate in astonishment. "They've been all sold out for months now."

"I have my ways," Dave said mysteriously refusing to explain if only because he knew Penelope would go off on him if she discovered the large donation and that he had contributed to this particular artist in order to get two extra tickets for him and his mate. Penelope still didn't fully understand that he had more money than God as his investments made money and a $50,000 dollar donation had allowed him to get two extra tickets for him and his wife. It wasn't that Penelope didn't understand that he had more money than he could ever spend no matter how many expensive presents he bought for her, it was just that she didn't like him spending so much of it on her, as she worried that he would run out even if that wasn't really possible.

Or perhaps the problem was she believed that he would come to resent spending so much money on her, even though he truly didn't mind. Of course, Dave knew at least part of the real reason that she protested whenever he did something too extravagant for her and that was because she felt that she didn't deserve so many expensive presents and also because of her upbringing which had been one of moderation. Despite her memories of her first incarnation, he suspected that she felt that he would eventually come to the resent dropping so much of his hard earned cash on presents for her, even though he loved spoiling her rotten and if he didn't he wouldn't do it, it was as simple as that.

His, Penelope had made his life so much happier and when her previous incarnation had died in his arms he had nearly killed himself despite his promise to survive for her. He had led an absolutely miserable existence, until he had again met his mate that first morning at the BAU just over 200 years ago now and there was no way in hell he would ever resent her or stop enjoying showering her with presents, just to show her how much he truly loved her.

Really though, nowadays her protesting was more of an automatic response and they really didn't argue too much about it, if only because Penelope was well aware that she'd never win. Besides, he knew that she secretly loved all the presents he got her, whether it was jewelry or an expensive car or tickets to an art show that she had wanted to go to for months.

Over the last 100 years Penelope had discovered an appreciation for the arts that she had never had before if only because she had never really had the time to go to such things, and they now owned multiple paintings from various artists, that were hanging in the various homes they owned all over the world. Dave suspected that he would be doing the same tonight and buying whatever suited his wife's fancy and he didn't particularly care if it was a couple of million dollars, as it was a good investment for one thing and he knew his wife would enjoy whatever painting it was, for decades and even centuries to come.

Art never went out of style as a lot of artists like da Vinci, Picasso and van Gogh were still worth millions of dollars even today.

"I suspect I know what you had to do to get a couple of extra tickets," Penelope said finally speaking just as Dave was looking for a parking spot. "I should yell at you for spending so much money on me, but I know it'll do no good so I won't bother and just tell you thank you."

"You should be used to me spending money on you by this point in time considering we've been together for just over two centuries," Dave told her with a smug grin. "Besides, what is mine is yours, which is a concept you have never truly understood or you wouldn't argue with me about all the money I spend on you.

"As I have explained to you before that anything your heart desires that is possible for me to give you, you shall receive, simply because I love you. Couples give each other presents all the time and it doesn't really matter how much those gifts are since most couples don't have our vast wealth and I've never really seen a point of having money if I don't spend it.

"What you fail to understand is that we can't just live like a normal couple, because life would quickly become boring if we did, since we live forever, so we have to find ways to make it exciting or at least not stagnant. Even those humans with money like to spend it, even if it's mostly on themselves.

"Me, on the other hand, prefers to donate large chunks of it to charity and also use it to buy you anything your heart desires. Yes, we've had numerous children and each one has a trust fund set up for them and we teach them how to invest their money wisely. However, even with that expense it barely puts a dent in what both of us have together as a couple, since we're always investing our money after you do the research to make sure it's a good one.

"I haven't made a bad investment ever since you and I found each other, because you know how to truly research and find out all a companies dirty little secrets and whether or not it's a good investment or it they are on the verge of failing and going out of business. The two of us are an unbeatable team when it comes to investing anyway and since you know exactly how much between the two of us we are worth you shouldn't mind when I buy you something expensive.

"Besides, you're lucky I stop myself from buying you expensive presents every month or so and I mostly only do it on your birthday, our anniversaries, Valentines Day and whenever you get pregnant, which are all events that are special and should be made memorable. Besides every couple buys their partner presents on their birthday and anniversary even if they are not ultraexpensive," Dave lectured.

Penelope sighed and rolled her eyes if only because she knew that Dave was correct and he only really spoiled her a few times a year, technically, anyway. However, he was always taking her out on dates, or buying her anything she wanted, but then she did the same for him and never forgot his birthday or their anniversary, so she supposed it evened out. A little anyway.

"You just wait until you've been alive for a thousand years and you'll find that the little things I do for you and you do for me make our existence worth living. We're not like mortals that only have a set number of years before they die and go to the other side and you have failed to grasp that concept deep in your heart, even if your brain understands. We can't get set in a routine, because that quickly gets boring after 50 or 60 years or sooner, which is why both of us try to be spontaneous at least as much as we can be," Dave explained yet again.

"It's why we pick up and move every few decades," Penelope murmured finally understanding the point that Dave was trying to gently make. "Why we travel, so extensively."

"Precisely," Dave agreed. "We'll likely live in most cities in the world at some point in our existence, likely more than once too. We only stayed in Italy for so long, because my parents hadn't seen me in the last 700 years. I should have gone back for a visit much sooner, but they would have immediately noticed how sad and despondent I was and I would've had to explain exactly what had occurred, not something I wanted to do. Besides, it gave my parents an opportunity to get to know my mate and for you to get to know them."

"I wouldn't have minded staying in Italy even longer, as it really is a fascinating country," said Penelope.

"Yes, it is and its history is ancient and deep, as it has been around much longer then the United States," Dave agreed. "We can go back someday, but it was time to move on and we both agreed that it was. We'll go back to visit my parents maybe in another 50 or 60 years."

"So we've been here in New York for over 20 years now, and is still a fascinating city," Penelope said.

"Yes, it is, but we'll likely move sometime in the next 10 years or so and live somewhere else and whether that somewhere in the States or overseas is yet to be determined."

"We could try living in California for awhile as most my family still lives there," Penelope suggested. "Yes, my siblings died a few years ago, all except for Persephone of course, but we have make sure to keep in contact with the Garcias and most of them still live in the same city where I was born."

"Yes, you are still a member of that family and we have visited them a few times over the centuries," Dave agreed. "I don't know why we can't live in Los Angeles for a few decades, to be close to your family, since we lived in Italy for over 100 years just to be close to mine. We'll make a decision together sometime in the next decade."

Dave opened the door for his mate and helped her alight and then the two of them on arm in arm walked the couple of blocks to the big grand hotel where the art show was.

~~~Penelope and Dave~~~

"I really enjoyed that," Penelope told Dave even as the two walked arm in arm towards their car. "I never imagined I would appreciate art so much back when I was still mortal and working at the BAU, but that's probably only because I knew I couldn't afford to buy any of it."

"Sometimes, all it takes to creating an art lover is for them to go to something like an art show, or to a museum to view the wonderful paintings that they have," Dave said. "A lot of people really don't appreciate history, unless they have actually lived it like I have. Back when I was born they barely knew what art was and I've lived through the Renaissance and actually met Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Of course at the time you never know what's going to catch peoples fancy or which artists are going to be remembered forever his or her art immortalized. I am not saying that da Vinci on Michelangelo or Raphael or any other famous artists were not great men or women as the case might be, just that you never know if they're going to be forgotten or remembered until after they're already dead. Of course, in da Vinci's case he was more then a painter, but also an inventor and the concept of helicopters, airplanes and flying in general came from drawings he had made. Many of the things that are so common place today came from his mind and the technology that didn't exist back when I was born, thanks to the inventiveness of the human race has made a lot of concepts at one time thought impossible, a reality. Back when da Vinci was born in the technology just didn't exist to make his drawings and a lot of his concepts real."

"You really make history come alive and it makes me wish that I had lived back when da Vinci did," Penelope said wistfully.

"You would have been alive at the same time Leonardo da Vinci was if not for your father," Dave growled, as the subject of her past life was still a rather sensitive subject for him, but then considering that Penelope's former incarnation had died in his arms due to her father Penelope couldn't really blame Dave for that. Due to the subject being so sensitive though the two of them rarely discussed it, as they both preferred to just think ahead instead of dwelling on the past and what might have been.

"That's true," Penelope told Dave gently, even as she gave his arm squeeze, "and I know your life wasn't exactly very pleasant until we met again, but it truly was an accident. Yes, if my father, had just accepted the inevitable you and I would've been together for 800 years instead of just 2 centuries, but you also have to see it from his point of view. He had already lost his wife and his infant daughter, my sister, and he was still grieving even years later, as he was deeply in love with my mother. Her death devastated him and when you came around showing interest in me he felt like he was losing me as well, as he knew that I wouldn't stick around once you and I were married. It wasn't that he didn't want to see me happy, he just wanted me to settle in the area, so we would still see each other frequently, but he knew that with your money, as most vampires were extremely wealthy even back then, that we wouldn't stick around such a small village and that you would take me away from him. Of course, his hatred of vampires also played a part in his actions, but I truly believe that it was mostly the thought of losing me that caused him to hate you so intensely. He never even looked at another woman, as he was still grieving for my mother, even though she had been dead for 18 years and I know that the thought of losing me drove his actions, even if that was to marriage and not to death."

"It might explain his actions at the time, but I'll still never forgive him, mostly because I'm not able to forget all those lonely centuries, before you came back to me," Dave said vehemently. "I'm sure he knew exactly what kind of torture he would put me through if he denied me access to you. He might not have meant to kill you and it might very well have been an accident, but he tried to deliberately come between us and it's that that I cannot forgive him for. I know he's been dead more than 800 years and I truly hope he's rotting in hell. If I hadn't been such a gentleman I just would have stolen you away once I saw your father's reaction to me and we would have been long gone before he discovered you were missing. We would've been at least 200 miles away by morning."

Penelope made no comment, because she knew she wouldn't change Dave's opinion and she at least partially agreed with him, even though he had been her father in her first life and she had loved him. Her father had let his hatred of vampires at that time get the better of him instead of just accepting the situation. He hadn't bothered to try to get to know Dave and see that she was happy with him and instead allowed his anger and hate to overcome him, which had eventually led to her death some months later.

Penelope realized that back then things were very different and that the man of the family had final authority over any females whether they were daughters, sisters or nieces, but most magicals just wanted their children to be happy. Normally, they didn't particularly care who their females relatives married, so long as they were sure that the man truly loved them and would treat them well, which had been true even back when her first incarnation had first been born.

"I truly believed that I could win your father over but it didn't work out that way," Dave admitted, "as his hatred of vampires just ran to deep."

"Let's not talk about it anymore, as it doesn't do any good to dwell on what ifs," Penelope suggested not unsympathetically. "We are together now and I've never doubted for a moment that you love me, even if I don't like how women fling themselves at you, even when I'm standing or sitting right beside you. Yes, I'm well aware that's a vampire's allure, even if it's not as strong ever since older vampires, like yourself started drinking that artificial stuff, but woman try to get your attention all to frequently, even if you politely brush them off."

"So where do you want to go now?" Dave asked after he opened the passenger door to their car for his mate. "We don't necessarily have to go home, since we don't need to sleep or we can go home if you want it doesn't really matter to me so long as we are together."

"Why don't we go to a bar and have a few drinks, one of those that is open 24 hours since it's just after 1 o'clock in the morning," Penelope said looking at her very nice and expensive watch that had sapphire accents on both the watch face and the band. She had watches with every type of stone and color, so that she had something to match whatever she wore. "We don't have any children to worry about, and in fact it's been just you and me for the last 20 years. Come to think of it, we haven't had any children, since we moved back to the States, but we both know it will happen at some point so we might as well enjoy ourselves before it does."

"I'm actually surprised that we haven't had any since we certainly practice enough," Dave smirked, even as he sat in the passenger seat letting Penelope drive. "We haven't been doing anything different from what's normal after all and I certainly haven't been using protection so it's kind of surprising."

"Well, it's kind of nice to have had a break," Penelope said. "I love every single one of the children we've had naturally and also the ones we've adopted, but it's nice with it just being you and me for a change. You're right when you say that we will have more children in the future, because the only way to permanently end having them it is to have one of us made sterile, like removing my womb for instance."

"Neither one of us is ready to go to those lengths just so we don't have anymore children," Dave denied vehemently.

"I didn't say that I was ready, just that down the road, I might want to have myself made sterile so that I can't have anymore, but that day is not now," Penelope denied. "Even if I do have myself made sterile that does not mean that we can't adopt more werewolf children just that we won't have anymore of our own. You have more then fulfilled my dream about having a large family, because I always wanted at least five or six children, but I had given up hope of ever having any of my own, because having sex outside of marriage is one thing, but having children are an entirely different matter."

"And yet we had our first set of triplets before we tied the knot," Dave teased her and Penelope laughed, as this was just one of those old jokes that refused to die.

"I knew we were going to be together for eternity, so having children outside of marriage didn't matter so much, as I've told you every time you decide to tease me about it," Penelope told him with a smile, even as she continued to navigate the car through the streets of New York that were still extremely busy even at 1 o'clock in the morning, but then this was the city that never slept. "Besides, I remember my first incarnation's intense desire to have a child by you and yes, she was pregnant when she died in your arms, but that baby never had a chance to even be born much less live their life."

"If I'd only had that child to raise perhaps I wouldn't have been so lonely," Dave said. "Yes, I'd had plenty of children before you and I met all those centuries ago now, but those children weren't as special to me as the one that never had a chance to be born, simply because your previous incarnation was my mate, just as you are. Your mate's children are always more special than any others you have before that, not that you don't love all your children, just that ones by your mate are extra special."

"Why don't we go dancing?" Penelope suggested suddenly, "we haven't been dancing in awhile."

"That's sounds like a fine idea," Dave immediately approved. "The fact that I get to hold you in my arms while we dance the night away is just an added bonus."

"And the sex afterwards is always spectacular," Penelope suggested with a grin of her own, as she remembered those times.

"Another reason I approve," Dave said with a wide grin. "It's not that we don't fuck each other senseless, sometimes for days at a time, but there's something special about doing it after we've been dancing and holding onto each other all night and the sex tends to be more wild and inspired, which has to do with our emotions at the time I know."

Penelope simply laughed glad to see that she had succeeded in getting her mate's mind off the past, as it wasn't good for anybody to dwell on things that could not be changed, although it was okay to think about it occasionally just not dwell on it, but in some portion of his soul Dave would grieve for the loss of her previous incarnation and their unborn child forever. She didn't hold that against him at all nor did she believe that it made him love her any less and in fact she suspected that Dave cherished her even more then he would have if not for what happened so long ago.

~~~Penelope and Dave~~~


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

"So what have you heard from Spencer?" Dave asked his mate.

It was just over a week, since the night they had gone to that art showing and the two of them had been keeping themselves occupied. Dr. Spencer Reid had been turned into a vampire, when he had been fatally wounded on a case, back when he was working with the BAU. He had been 40 at the time. Luckily, he had been with Dave when it happened and had been conscious enough to agree to be changed into a vampire so that he didn't die. Dave well knew that his mate thought of Spencer like a son and he had taken a liking to the shy young genius as well, so he had bit into his own wrist and dripped a lot of the venom into Spencer's mouth. Spencer's transformation had started immediately afterwards and he had screamed the whole time, as Dave had carried him back to their car, placing him in the back seat laying down and then called Aaron and told him what had happened.

Once and had been told the whole story and how Spencer would have died he had supported Dave's actions in front of Strauss as well as the review board of the FBI. Once Spencer had finished his transformation, he had told Strauss as well as the review board that it had been his decision to be changed and that Dave had just done what he had asked.

When Penelope had learned and about what happened she had hugged Spencer as if he would cease to exist if she let him go and Dave had watched this in amusement not at all jealous. After his mate had finished making sure that Spencer was indeed alright she had hugged Dave and kissed him soundly thanking him for saving Spencer Reid's life, which he had been more than happy to accept and he had assured his mate it was the least he could do as he didn't want the team to lose a valuable member or for her to lose someone they both considered family.

Of course, getting Spencer back to Virginia had been a challenge, as he couldn't be around people for at least a few months until he got his bloodlust under control, but he managed to accomplish that and taken Spencer to his house out in the woods, where he would spend the next few months getting control of his bloodlust and his other vampire abilities. It had taken less than six months before both Dave and Aaron had felt that Spencer had sufficient control to be allowed out among the general populace and both of them had been very impressed, as it usually took at least the full six months, sometimes a year for a new vampire to learn to control their bloodlust and their strength. Somebody had to be with Spencer at all times and since Dave couldn't take anymore time off right then whether he was paid or not unless he left the FBI he had gotten a couple of his siblings to do it and after he had explained the situation and how he had done it in order to save the life of someone that was important to his, Penelope and had become important to him as well they had been happy to do it.

Spencer Reid had taken to the vampire life as if he been born to it and he was certainly glad he never had to go through the transformation into a werewolf again. Yes, it was usually a smooth transition, but he had hated being one all his life mostly because of his father and the way most people he acted when they found out would stay with him forever. He had been astonished when the whole team had accepted the fact that he was a werewolf, because he'd had so little acceptance in his life, but the team hadn't cared what he was just so long as he pulled his weight and soon he actually had made friends with them and within just a few years they had become his family.

Now Dave considered him a favorite nephew just as he knew Aaron did and Spencer had reveled in becoming a part of a real family and he didn't particularly care that they weren't related by blood, but considering what his father had been like this was unsurprising. All five of them were constantly stepping in and out of each others lives and Dave and Penelope saw Spencer at least once every few years, just as they saw Aaron and Persephone.

Thanks to the generosity of him and Aaron as well as Penelope and Persephone, Spencer now had enough money to travel the world, so that's what he did. Oh, he had protested about what the four had done, but since he couldn't change their minds he just accepted it and thanked them for it.

"Not in the last few months anyway," Penelope shrugged. "I'm sure he's fine is not much can hurt one of our kind after all and he wears both your crest and Aaron's, so not many people vampire or not are going to take on two of the most powerful vampire families in existence. Besides, he knows how to protect himself, so he'll be just fine. Knowing him he probably just got involved in some sort of research project as you know how he is."

"That's true he could spend months and even years doing something like that," Dave admitted with a chuckle

"Well, he has to keep himself busy some way as he's not mated," Penelope shrugged. "I mean think about it, he was already super intelligent before he was changed in order to save his life and the knowledge he has absorbed in the last 185 years is bound to be phenomenal. We both know that Spencer Reid prizes knowledge no matter what it is, it's just part of who he is and who he was before."

"Yes, that's true enough," Dave admitted. "Still, I think he needs more in his life then research, he needs to break out of his comfort zone."

"He really has changed a lot, ever since he was changing into a vampire," Penelope said. "I'm not saying I wouldn't like him to be in a relationship, even if it's temporary, just that even as a vampire Spencer is extremely shy when it comes to that sort of thing, as he always gets tongue tied. Besides, for all we know he has been in several relationships over the last few decades, but Spencer isn't the one to talk about those kind of things, not unless he meets his mate."

"I don't think so," Dave said shaking his head, "I'm enough of a profiler that I would know. I could be wrong, but I doubt it."

"You're probably right," Penelope admitted. "Just because he's a vampire now doesn't mean that he's anymore comfortable around women then he was as a werewolf, even if vampires are a little bit more accepted then werewolves are."

"Of course, part of that shyness has to do with the fact that people were always nasty to him when they found out that he was a werewolf except the team, other werewolves and vampires," Dave suggested with a grimace. "The team accepted him from the first just so long as he pulled his weight, but considering their boss at the time was a vampire, that's not really all that surprising. There was no way that Aaron would ever accept anyone on the team if they were prejudiced against the werewolves or anybody really, because we often questioned such people in our work and you can't afford to make judgments about people until you have evidence. You couldn't be against gay couples for example. If Aaron had even gotten a whiff of one of his subordinates being prejudiced against any species, gay couples or any other people they would've been given a warning and if they didn't lose those prejudice very fast then they would have been fired or at least transferred. There's simply no way that Aaron Hotchner would have accepted such an attitude from somebody that he had picked for his team and neither would I or Gideon before he died."

"No, Aaron wouldn't have," Penelope immediately agreed, "as he is a very fair minded individual, which is why he ran the BAU for so many years. He always tried to pick the best agents for the team, ones that had as few prejudices as possible and I know that if any of those agents had allowed their opinions to affect their work they would have been off the team and gone fast."

"He never would have put up with another agent bullying another one of the team either, just because they wanted to be alpha wolf," Dave agreed. "Of course you know I'm very fair-minded to and I'm the one that trained Aaron to be as good, as he is at the job profiling, so back when I ran the team I never would have to put up with that kind of thing either. If we were always fighting with each other our case solving rate would've gone in the tank."

"Those were some good times," Penelope said and Dave nodded in agreement. "Of course, I didn't really like being separated from you, even if I understood why it was necessary."

"If I had never come back to the BAU we never would have met, so for that reason alone I'm grateful that I decided to come out of retirement," Dave told his mate sincerely, as he took her into his arms and kissed her tenderly.

"That's been obvious ever since we did meet again," Penelope giggled, as she snuggled very contentedly in her husband's arms. "Of course I am also very happy that we did meet again, although those dreams I had of you and I together did help a great deal to get me to trust you much more easily than I normally would have. I knew from those dreams that we were meant to be."

"I'm certainly glad you had those dreams as it did make my job much easier," Dave told his gorgeous wife.

"So shall we head upstairs and see if we can get you pregnant, my lady?" Dave asked his gorgeous mate.

"I don't really mind," Penelope promised him, "but considering we haven't exactly abstained from having sex for the last 20 years I should've been pregnant several times before now, not that I haven't enjoyed the break or anything where it's just you and me."

"Oh, well, even if you don't end up pregnant that doesn't mean that we can't have fun practicing," Dave told Penelope with a wide grin.

"That we can," Penelope agreed, as she kissed Dave passionately.

"We had better get upstairs before I fuck you right here on the carpet in the living room," Dave told her not joking in the least, as his mate was the sexiest woman alive as far as he was concerned and sometimes they wanted each other so badly that they just didn't make it to the bed.

"Go ahead, I don't mind," Penelope told him and so Dave without further ado simply ripped the clothes from her body not bothering to let her get undressed while Penelope did the same thing to him as cloth was very easy to rip into multiple pieces with vampire strength.

"Eager are you?" Penelope teased her mate. She knew very well that Dave was always eager to make love to her and she certainly never objected when he was feeling particularly horny, as she wasn't stupid. The sex was always so damn spectacular that she didn't mind in the least. That she had actually found something better than her computers had stopped astonishing her after all these decades, but at first she couldn't believe that she preferred making love to Dave then doing something with her laptop, but now it was just the way it was.

"I'm always eager to make love to my gorgeous, Penelope," Dave told his mate sincerely. "It doesn't matter that we've been together now for two centuries I'll never get tired of fucking you senseless."

Penelope giggled at that because she knew it was true. "Go right ahead, I'm certainly not about to object," Penelope told him and Dave needed no further encouragement, as he picked her up and placed her very gently on the carpet that was on the floor of the living room and just a second later he was on top of her.

"Ti amerò, per l'eternità. La mia vita non valeva nulla quando la vostra incarnazione è morto tra le mie braccia. Solo tu giurando troppo ritorno a me anche se ci sono voluti secoli, mi ha permesso di non cercare la mia morte come mi sentivo come se la mia anima era stato strappato fuori dal mio corpo e che ero meno di metà dell'uomo che ho usato per essere," Dave murmured into his mate's ear.

(I will love you for eternity. My life was not worth anything when your incarnation died in my arms. Only you swearing too return to me, although it took centuries, allowed me to not seek my death as I felt as if my soul had been ripped out of my body and that I was less than half the man I used to be.)

Dave talking in Italian when he and his mate were making love was not at all unusual and thanks to the fact that Penelope had been around for two centuries now she also spoke several languages including Italian. Dave tended to slip into his native tongue whenever he felt like being romantic, as he claimed that Italian was one of the most romantic languages in the world. Since hearing her mate speak in his native tongue always sent shivers of delight and hot, intense desire through her body Penelope wasn't about to disagree as it always made her extremely wet down in her pussy and Dave knew it, which was likely why he did it.

Penelope had gotten quite good at translating the Italian words even while her body was being played like a finely tuned instrument and expertly brought to completion.

Penelope knew that Dave still grieved for her incarnation's death and always would in some part of his soul and so he was always saying stuff like that in Italian whenever they made love, so that she knew that he would love her forever not that she could ever doubt it and not just because he spoiled her rotten, but because he showed her every day that he adored her.

"I love you to," Penelope told him, even as Dave he continued to nip, lick and kiss her in the most sensitive areas of her body and he should know them all considering they had been together for over two hundred years.

Finally once she was a puddle of mush and felt absolutely boneless Dave grinned at her and Penelope knew then that the pleasure she had felt until now was a mere shadow of what she was about to. Dave was very good at giving her, so much pleasure that if she had been able to be knocked unconscious she would have been on a regular basis.

Dave entered her slowly and Penelope's passage welcomed him by stretching to accommodate his girth easily, but then as much as the two of them made love it should as a woman's passage was like elastic and it was made to stretch and the more Dave entered her the easier it was.

"Come! Come now!" Penelope ordered him her voice filled with lust and need. "Come in me before I explode as I feel as if my entire body is on fire!" Penelope continued to beg without shame, even as her fingernails left scratch marks on his back.

To do something like leave scratch marks on a vampire who's skin, which was stonelike was something only another another vampire could accomplish. Dave took the marks that his mate gave him with pleasure and pride no matter how much they stung at first. He was glad that Penelope felt that she was free to leave marks on his body that wouldn't be very noticeable to anybody except another vampire, as they tended to fade quite a lot over time and human eyesight was very weak compared to one of the undead.

"Ahhh!" Dave groaned, as the pleasure amped up several notches in his body just as he knew it did in his mate's, as he slowly withdrew his cock and then pushed back in again until finally he could hold back no longer and released quite a few spurts of seed into Penelope's body.

The two lay together for awhile with Dave having a landed on top of his mate and Penelope certainly didn't mind, as his weight was reassuring. Besides it wasn't like he was going to smother her since she no longer needed to breathe and hadn't for 200 years.

"Another round?" Penelope asked him hopefully causing Dave to laugh.

"Your wish is my command, bella," Dave told her. "I'll never get tired of making love to you, not so long as I exist to do so."

Penelope said nothing when Dave called her bella as she knew that it was Italian for beautiful as well as being a given name, or a nickname for names like Isabella. He had started calling her that shortly after she had been turned into a vampire and since she knew it was an affectionate nickname for her she really didn't mind.

"I knew you wouldn't," Penelope told him with a wicked grin. "If you did, I would think you had been replaced by a clone."

Dave laughed at that, because it was absolutely true, as there was no way that they could replicate a vampire's DNA in order to create a clone. They used cloning for all sorts of things now, like creating a healthy heart or kidney out of an appropriate tissue sample for instance, although human cloning was still forbidden even in what was now the 22nd century. There had been quite a hue and cry when the laws had been relaxed enough to allow scientist to create healthy organs for those who needed them most, but now it was quite normal to have a heart transplant with one created in a cloning laboratory somewhere, so that organ donors were no longer so much needed, even if it was a very expensive process even today, but since it was created out of your own tissue, it wasn't going to be rejected like a donors heart might be for whatever reason.

"I will never be able to resist making love to you, bella," Dave told her even as he started to tenderly kiss her all over. "Not for as long as I live."

"That's been obvious for quite some time," Penelope told him, even as a climax started to build in her body yet again.

The two of them often made love for days only stopping in order to feed in between sessions and then going straight back to doing what they had been. Of course, the fact that they didn't need sleep or get exhausted like mortals could meant that they often had quite a few climaxes apiece without getting exhausted before both of them were finally satisfied and sated and so didn't have a problem with doing other things for awhile before the urge came upon them again.

The two of them made love for hours on the carpet in the living room and Penelope distantly thought that if she wasn't pregnant it wasn't for lack of trying.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

Spencer waited patiently for the scientific lecture to begin. He had been to plenty of lectures over the last 185 years, as at least it was a way to keep himself occupied and learn something new at the same time.

Spencer was perfectly comfortable attending a lecture, since he had always loved learning something new since he was a child. His father had always thought he was too smart for his own good and that he should act like other children and play outside or at least have some friends to hang out with instead of reading all the time.

Spencer didn't think about his father often, though he had been dead for over 150 hundred years and Spencer hadn't bothered to mourn him, as he had been a lousy one, although it was more neglect than physical abuse.

Still, he knew that if his father had been a decent one his personality would likely be different and while he could always see himself loving to learn he probably wouldn't have been so set in his ways. He could see himself not getting so involved in research and actually get out to do things more frequently than he did. He loved to research new things he had to admit it, but he had been trying lately to get more out of his comfort zone, even without Aaron or Dave or Penelope or Persephone urging him to.

He knew they would be shocked that he was trying to do that on his own and broaden his horizons, but all the urgings and lectures about getting out among people, because a vampire could go insane if he didn't get out sometimes had not been in vain.

He had never been a party animal, but he had started going out seeing more of the world and actually talking to people, although they looked at him strangely sometimes.

He felt that he hid his nervousness well when he did actually have to talk to people who weren't witnesses or suspects, which he had done often when he had worked with the behavior analyst unit along with Aaron Hotchner, Penelope Garcia now Rossi and also her husband Dave. In fact, it had been David Rossi had turned him into a vampire when he had been seriously injured on a case when he was 40 and he was lucky that he had been with the older vampire at that time or he likely would have died long before his time.

It was thanks to the four of them that he had plenty of money of his own and he had invested wisely so he wasn't going to run out.

He saw Aaron and Persephone and Dave and Penelope every few years and he called them often, so that they would know he was alright. He did miss them sometimes, as they were his true family ones that were still alive anyway, but he missed Derek Morgan, Jennifer Jareau and Emily Prentiss, as they had been dead for very long time.

Derek had been his brother, and JJ and Emily his sisters in every way, but blood.

The other people that were gathering for the lecture, mostly doctors or scientists of one type or another and also a few students who were interested in this field of science. He was probably the lone exception as he wasn't a student and although he was a doctor it wasn't the type of doctor that normally attended lectures like this.

The lecture started and most people ignored him, even though he did feel a few females eyeing up his handsome form, even as he listened. He had gone from the boy next door he had been before he was changed into a vampire to a drop dead gorgeous man who had no imperfections on his skin, at least ones that were visible.

Most people couldn't tell who was a vampire and who was human unless they had been around them for quite sometime and noticed the fact that they didn't eat as white cold skin could be explained away is a medical condition. Of course, most people weren't very observant and if you put together the white cold skin and how hard it was with the way that a vampire tended to move, which was fluidly, like a predator, then it wasn't impossible to figure out who one was. However, most people never did put the clues together, as they were so caught up in their own lives they might not realize that they had been talking to a vampire. They could have been talking to one in a bar for instance as the undead could drink, but not get drunk, if they so desired, even if they couldn't eat human food.

Spencer listened to the lecture even while his mind was elsewhere as he thought about the last almost 200 years. He was so grateful to Dave for what he had done and he knew that the Hotchners and the Rossis were his true family even though they would not related by blood or marriage, not that that mattered to him.

He had been a godparent and an uncle to many of the Rossi and Hotchner children and they kept in contact as much as they could.

Spencer was indeed grateful for the Rossis and the Hotchners, as it made his existence much more bearable than it otherwise would have been. Most of his friends, the ones he'd had considered family were dead and had been for a very long time, but at least he still had Aaron and his wife and also Dave and his. Three of those names had been part of the team as well so he had already known them quite well by the time he had been so fatally injured and as for Persephone, Garcia's twin sister well it had taken them awhile to work up to a close friendship, but now they were just as close as he'd ever been to the other three.

Finally the lecture was over and Spencer began to file out with the others who had come, but wasn't really paying attention to anything, except concentrating on going with the flow of the crowd, as he was going over the information that had been given in the lecture and thought that it wasn't an angle he had considered before and that what he had learned would be useful for his own research.

He had published quite a few papers over the centuries and also articles in numerous scientific journals and was quite well known and respected in the academic community, but unless you followed that kind of thing, well then, he wasn't known at all, at least by most of the general population.

He was so lost in his thoughts that before he knew it he was outside the lecture hall and into the bright sunlight and just as he was stepping towards the street when he literally ran into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Spencer began to apologize then actually looked up into the greenest eyes he had ever seen.

Vampire just like I am, Spencer absently noted as his brain tried to come to terms with the fact that he had met his mate when he had least been expecting it. Of course, you never really expected to meet your soulmate, because the world was such a big place and so you didn't dwell on that fact that he or she might be out there, because it was a very strong possibility that they were either long dead or had yet to be born.

Of course, he had never believed in reincarnation until he had heard the story between Dave and Penelope and how they had met before 600 or so years ago. Of course, it was more like 800 now, but still he had learned and that the two of them had met in Spain and that Penelope had been a witch then to. Her father at the time had absolutely loathed vampires and had instead killed his own daughter on accident, instead of scaring Dave off, which never would have worked.

Penelope's father at the time Sylvester, had no notion, because he was too consumed with rage, that there was no way he would have scared Dave away from his mate and vampires were practically indestructible anyway. He now knew that Dave was probably the only vampire in history who had survived the initial death of their mate, but only because that Penelope Garcia had made him promise to survive and that she would be born, even if it was hundreds of years in the future.

Magicals were usually the ones that believed in reincarnation back then, but he had become a believer to once he had heard their rather painful tale. Spencer still wasn't sure how David Rossi had survived promise or no promise, because he well knew that he must've been miserable until he and this current Penelope Garcia had met. He had never known the David Rossi that was somber and serious all the time, though Aaron, who had known Dave before had said that the difference couldn't be more startling. Aaron had always known that Dave had a rather painful past, as it practically seeped out of his very skin, but once he and Penelope had met at the BAU all those decades ago now he had done a complete 180 and turned into what he likely was before he and Penelope's ancestor had met that first time, with some differences. Dave had changed after her death at the hands of her father, even if it had been an accident, though he well knew that David Rossi considered it murder. He also knew that Dave had killed the man that had been Garcia's father back then in a fit of rage.

Spencer couldn't really blame Dave for that at all, because he knew very well that to lose your mate it usually led to the death of the vampire involved and in fact he wouldn't be surprised at all if Dave was the only one to ever survive the death of his soulmate.

As for Penelope Garcia she had told him that she had been having dreams about Dave for years, but had never gotten a name to do research on him to discover who he was and the dreams she had been having which had been extremely sexual in nature had driven her crazy. Spencer was certainly glad that Penelope or Penny as she was officially called by everybody except Dave who insisted on using her full name, when he wasn't using a nickname that he had come up with for her, had not gone into detail on the nature of those dreams, as he absolutely didn't need to know.

They had both been happy to meet again at the BAU and it wasn't long after that that Penny had been turned into a vampire, just a couple of years, but only after the birth of her children, triplets who were half vampire and half magical.

Penny had also told him that she looked almost the same as her ancestor, except for the fact that she hadn't worn glasses back then and her eyes were purple, which a lot of magical tended to be born with instead of the brown she possessed now.

It was hard for Spencer to actually imagine that, not that he disbelieved her or Dave, but he knew it had to do with the fact that he had never actually been there to witness what had happened and so to him it was just a story, even if it was true.

The female vampire, who had black hair that was very curly and incredibly green eyes stared at him in astonishment.

"I know this is an astonishing development," Spencer told the female quietly his brown eyes still wide in surprise even if his voice was calm.

"You can say that again," the female who didn't look much younger than him, though he knew that looks to be deceiving said. It was quite likely actually that this female with centuries older than he was just as Dave was older then Garcia or Hotch older than Persephone.

"I'm Spencer," Spencer introduced himself, "And your name is...?

"Rosaleen," the female answered her surprise beginning to wear off. "Rosaleen O'Carroll, but you can call me Rosa."

"And my last name is Reid," Spencer told her embarrassed that he hadn't told her his surname before, but he had been so astonished at meeting her that he hadn't been thinking straight, a rather unusual event for him.

"Well, shall we go somewhere and talk Spencer Reid?" Rosa asked him with a little smile.

"Yes, I have an apartment, that's not too far from here," Spencer said, "and it should provide us some privacy anyway."

"So you live here in the city?" Rosa asked, as the two walked along together heading towards they're separate vehicles.

"At the moment," Spencer told her candidly, as his instincts were screaming at him that he could trust her with anything and she would never betray him. He well know that it was impossible for mates to betray each other or at least that's what Dave and Hotch were always telling him and he knew that they would never steer him wrong as they were his family, even if that wasn't true in the most technical sense. "I'm sure you know that people like us move around a lot, but I have been here for over a year."

"So do you want to take my car or yours or both?" Spencer asked Rosa.

"We can take your car for now and then come back for mine tomorrow," Rosa suggested, seeming unwilling to be parted from him even as long as it took to drive to his apartment.

"We can do that," Spencer immediately agreed, as he no one wanted to be parted from her then she did from him.

Spencer led Rosa to his car, which was a nice one, though he certainly could've afforded a Ferrari, an Ashton Martin or a Mustang, but this one worked just fine for him.

Spencer saw Rosa's expression at his car and explained. "I could afford something a bit fancier, but this is enough for me as I've never been into really fancy cars like some people I've known, so it's not a matter of money it's a matter of preference. I'm not really one for flash."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Rosa told him sincerely. "It's just that most vampires prefer fancy cars."

"Dave would agree with you," Spencer told her with her smile.

"Dave?" Rosa asked wondering if it was some sort of male lover, but she knew better than to make assumptions.

"David Rossi," Spencer explained, "He and his mate Penelope are good friends of mine. We used to work together at the FBI the behavioral analyst unit to be specific. He and Penelope Garcia who was the team's technical analyst met there and he knew immediately that they were mates. Dave is one of the ones that started the BAU in the first place in the 1960s, but he retired for something like 10 years, so he could do something different. I was gravely injured on the case when I was 40 years old and luckily, I was with Dave at the time and I was conscious enough to give him permission to change me. He's kind of like an uncle to me and Penny and I were already close, as I thought of her as kind of a flamboyant and crazy aunt as she is an extremely colorful person, both in the way she dresses and in her personality. The team back then was like a family and while I still have Dave and Penelope and Aaron Hotchner around as all of them were either vampires to begin with or in Penelope's case was changed I still miss several of my teammates who died a very long time ago now. Dave, Penny, Aaron and Penelope's twin sister who turned out to be Hotch's mate Persephone are my only family or at least they used to be before you and I met."

"I thought I recognized the two crests on your right hand," Rosa said, "but now that you mention the names of Rossi and Hotchner I know that those crest belong to them and that you're under their protection."

"I am and you will be too when they find out about you," Spencer told her. "They will accept you gladly and just be happy for both of us, because I've really led a very lonely life, even before I was turned into a vampire. Back then, my work was all that mattered and I knew the team had my back and we were friends outside the job, but other than that, I was a workaholic and I very rarely went out in public, except when I was on the job. I well remember Morgan trying more than once to get me to come to some bar with him, but I was never much of a drinker, so I very rarely agreed to go no matter how much he urged me to get out of my comfort zone."

The exasperated affection in her mate's tone let Rosa know that her mate and this Morgan had been very close and he had probably been like a brother.

"I miss JJ and Emily as they were like sisters to me just as Morgan was like an older brother," Spencer admitted confirming Rosa suspicions. "I know I'm lucky that I still have three of the people I was really close to when I was a werewolf back so many years ago now that are still with me, but I can't help, but think about how much I miss the others, even if I try not to do that too often, as brooding was never my thing."

"All of us have people we miss, that we were close to," Rosa told him and Spencer nodded in agreement.

"So I've talked your ear off about me why don't you tell me a little about yourself?" Spencer suggested and Rosa nodded thinking that was only fair.

"Well, unlike you I was born a vampire," Rosa began and Spencer nodded having already suspected as much, because she looked the same age as Dave or Hotch, which was around 35, not that that was any guarantee of course, because some mortals were changed at that age but it was a good indication that she had been born one.

"I know my name is Italian, but I wasn't actually born in Italy, nor is my mother Italian. My father, however, is also a vampire and once I was born my mother left me and vanished and so he raised me by himself. I have no idea if my mother is even still alive as I don't actually remember ever meeting her, as she was simply gone just a couple of days after my birth. She didn't even bother to actually name me and so my father named me Rosaleen."

"I'm real sorry about your mother, but I also come from something of a broken home," Spencer explained. "I did know my father up until I was 10 years old, but he wasn't really much of one. He was neglectful in the extreme and told me I had to learn how to fix my own problems, even though I was only a child. He also called me too intelligent for my own good more than once and seemed to resent the fact that I was way smarter than he was, which couldn't be helped, as that's the way I was born. My father was a werewolf and he told me nothing about our kind, so all I knew was that father didn't really love me and even though I knew that his disdain shouldn't affect me, it did because children are impressionable and just want the approval of their parents."

"What about your mother?" Rosa asked to little hesitantly.

"My mother was very sick by the time I was seven or eight years old, schizophrenia," Spencer explained, "and my father used that as an excuse to leave when I was 10 and that might very well have been part of the reason. However, the fact was he just didn't want to have to deal with a son who was a genius and that's not bragging that's fact, because when my IQ was finally measured it was 187 and it's risen quite a bit since that time as that was 185 years ago. In any case he cut off all contact with his son and his wife and didn't even bother to pay child support payments, as he washed his hands of the responsibility. We were lucky that I was so intelligent and we had my mother's money from when she was a literature professor before her schizophrenia manifested itself and that was enough to see us through, although we certainly had to watch our pennies. My mother was often off in her own little world and it was very hard to get her to take her medicine, because she started to feel so much better that he stopped taking it, unless she was somehow forced to. I breezed through high school and skipped quite a few grades, which means I was constantly picked on by the more normal children."

Rosa growled at that, but said nothing as Spencer continued. "Werewolves were even less accepted back then than they are today and so you stayed quiet about what you were if you happened to be one unless you wanted to make the bullying worse. By the time I went to college at the age of 12, my mother was much worse, but whenever she was lucid she would tell me that I should not have to stay and look after her and I should be able to pursue my own dreams. I did go to college, but I called her as often as I could, although I didn't get a chance to visit much, because I just didn't have the money for it. By the time I graduated at the age of 20, I had 5 degrees and I've gotten quite a few more since then.

"Jason Gideon who lectured at colleges around the country, saw me in his old friend's criminology class and thought I looked awfully young to be that he found that I was just 19. He asked around about me because he was impressed about the intelligent questions I asked and found out that I had been at college since I was only 12 years old and that I had less then a year before I completed my last agree. He knew that the knowledge I had would be useful at the BAU, so he did his best to recruit me and convince me to go to the FBI Academy. He was a very well respected in the FBI, as he had been one of the founding members of the BAU along with David Rossi and Max Ryan and he said that he was going to pull me directly into his unit. I was the first and probably the only one to be pulled directly into the BAU, as it's the most prestigious unit that the FBI had at the time and usually you have to serve at least 10 years in another department or even several before you're even considered. To say that I was resented by the other FBI agents, although not the ones that also worked for my unit, would be an understatement, because technically, I was above them when it came to authority just like the other members of the team were and I could order them to do something and they would have to do it or get a black mark on their records if I reported them."

"This Jason Gideon must've seen your potential then," Rosa told him and Spencer nodded in agreement.

"He did, but what I didn't mention before was I was also incredibly clumsy and extremely unathletic back then and if he hadn't called in numerous favors to pull me directly into the BAU I would have flunked out of the academy because of the physical requirements. Gideon got them to waive the physical requirements in my case, which made me even more resented by the other agents, but he also knew I wouldn't fit in as well anywhere else, because a lot of agents would've done their best to keep me from advancing for as long as possible and likely would've done their best to bully me right out of the FBI, since a lot of agents are arrogant in the extreme. Once I was a member of the BAU I was immediately accepted by the other agents, because they knew that Hotch and Gideon always did their best to choose agents that would fit in well with the team and not cause any friction by trying to be alpha dogs.

"Neither one of them would have put up with an agent bullying another member of the team even the newbie. It took me a long time to truly trust any of them, because let's just say my childhood was not conducive to trusting people easily and I was well aware, even as young as I was that people could say one thing and then do something totally different. Also let me add that if we weren't mates, as I know that mates can never betray each other I wouldn't be telling you all this, especially since we just met. If there's one thing I've had pounded into my head ever since I was turned into a vampire that if I ever met my mate that I could trust them with anything. I see how happy Aaron and Persephone are or Dave and Penelope and have often wished the same thing for myself, when suddenly you just drop into my lap."

"Everybody deserves happiness," Rosa told him, even as she squeezed his free hand causing Spencer to smile at her very shyly and in that smile Rosa saw a certain vulnerability and she swore to herself that she would make him so happy that he would forget entirely about all the people who had hurt him in the past or at least they would never have anymore power over him.

Rosa could feel the bond that the two of them shared thrumming between them very strongly and she wanted nothing more then to make love to him right here in the car.

"So you never did say when you were born," Spencer asked.

"Don't you know that it's rude to ask a woman her age," Rosa teased him causing Spencer to smile and even laugh a little.

"I didn't know such things mattered to vampire females," Spencer told her with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "After all, it's not like vampires show signs of their age by getting gray hair and wrinkles or the aches and pains that come with getting older."

"Some of them do," Rosa told him, "but you're right our age doesn't really matter. In any case, I am around 800 years old."

"Well, you're definitely older than me then because I'm only 185," Spencer told her.

"Just because I'm older doesn't necessarily mean that were not a good match as the bond never would have formed otherwise," Rosa told him and Spencer nodded in agreement.

"I know that," Spencer told her calmly. "Because for one thing Dave is much older than Penelope as he was already a thousand when they met."

For the second time, Spencer added in his thoughts, as he knew the whole story now.

"And Aaron was over 400 when he met Penelope's identical twin sister Persephone. I've been told again and again by both those men that age doesn't matter to a vampire, because the bond wouldn't have formed if they weren't right for each other. In theory every vampire has a mate, but really only 30 percent or less ever find them," Spencer said.

"I can't wait to meet them," Rosa told Spencer sincerely causing him to give her a full smile instead of only a little one.

"I'd love to introduce you to them, but I also like to keep to myself for at least a little while. Trust me, they'll be thrilled for me as a vampire's life is very lonely without somebody to share it with. Not just a friend, or even a romantic love interest, but someone permanent and the only person that fits that description is a vampire's mate, whether they are mortal or a vampire themselves when they meet. Don't get me wrong I love Aaron, Persephone, Penny and Dave and we are constantly stepping in and out of each others lives and contact each other every few weeks or months at least. However, I don't have a romantic interest in any of them and I try not to bother them too much, even if they claim that they love hearing from me and that they don't mind at all being interrupted as they try to keep in contact with me and other people that they've known for a long time."

"If they say they don't mind if you contact them or even going to see them and they don't mind," Rosa told him firmly. "I don't see this Dave turning you into a vampire and even getting your permission to do so if he didn't truly care about you."

"Well, he did it for Penny, as much as he did it for me or himself, as the two of us are really close, not romantically or anything, but we do consider each other family. I didn't mean that they don't care about me, I know they do, and they love me in their own way, but I just don't want to bother them too much since I know that mates like to be alone and need a great deal of private time," Spencer explained.

"That's what I was told, at least when a vampire couple are first mated, but the need to be constantly together once they've been mated for awhile will die down after a few decades. After 20 or 30 years you don't have to be together all the time in order to be comfortable without the person you love constantly in your presence. If you want to go and do your own thing for a few hours, just so long as your mate knows where you're going and that you're all right then they can do without your presence for awhile. Mates are always close that's a given, but that doesn't mean you don't need time to yourself occasionally, as you and whoever you're mated to don't need to be together 24/7," Rosa said.

"Aaron and Dave said the same things," Spencer said with a nod. "They made sure that I knew everything there was to know about vampire life and that I had plenty of money to do what I wanted. I've invested in a lot of things, so I have even more now, but I tend to live pretty simply at least compared to one's like Dave who enjoys decadent luxury. My main expense are books as I love to read and every piece of property I own, has a large library."

"There's nothing wrong with liking the simple things in life," Rosa told him her green eyes soft in understanding. "It probably has a lot to do with how you were raised and likely also has to do with the fact that you really had to raise yourself. You got used to having very little and you just never got out of the habit."

"Well, my apartment is absolutely covered in bookcases and I don't even have a bed because I don't need to sleep."

"Maybe we should've gone to my place then, because I would like to make love to you so bad it's very hard to resist just ripping your clothes off even though you're driving the car," Rosa said with her voice filled with lust.

Spencer would have blushed it that if he could have but he did look rather embarrassed.

"I want that too," Spencer admitted a little shyly, "but since I wasn't exactly expecting to meet my mate I had no time to prepare. In fact, both my bedrooms are covered in bookshelves, as really it's like walking into a small library or maybe a bookstore."

Rosa had seen her mate's embarrassed look and took that to mean that he was shy when it came to the discussion of sex and was likely extremely inexperienced, although she doubted as old as he was that he was a complete virgin. Vampires tended to be sexual creatures, they were all different, just like all mortals were different.

Rosa got the impression that her mate spent a great deal of time by himself, likely reading or maybe doing some sort of research, since he was so intelligent and that seemed like something he would be interested in. He had been coming out of where a science lecture had taken place after all, so he had likely attended in order to learn something new, perhaps for his own research. Really a vampire's life could be incredibly boring or at least routine depending, of course, on how old you were as it got harder and harder to find something to do that you actually enjoyed, particularly when you weren't mated.

For all she knew Spencer had held down several jobs in the last 185 years, just like the one at the BAU before he had been turned into a vampire had been the only one he had ever had.

"Well, we'll just have to buy a house, since I promise you are going to have children," Rosa said.

"I wouldn't mind," Spencer promised her, "as I've always wanted a family of my own, but I wasn't about to pass on the gene for my mother's schizophrenia or my father's werewolf transformation. Now that I'm a vampire I'm no longer a werewolf and that means I can't pass it to my children and the same goes for my mother's schizophrenia. Besides, not many women paid attention to someone like me as they were always going after somebody like Aaron or Dave or Morgan who were all confident when it came to the female population, as they had much more forceful personalities then I do or in Morgan's case did and are and were definitely the take charge types. Of course, even back before Hotch met Persephone he was busy running the BAU and he wasn't one for casually sleeping around at least when I first met him. When he was younger it was likely different, though I don't know that for sure, but I do know that you can get tired of doing that type a thing if you do it long enough, so I'm pretty sure he probably slept with a lot of women when he was young."

"That's certainly plausible, because many vampires are indeed sex crazy when they are young and will sleep with both sexes, even if they didn't flaunt it a few hundred years ago, as that would have gotten them in trouble with a lot of people as most women, at least those raised in good homes, were considered spoiled if they had sex before marriage. Still, there were ways around that even six or seven hundred years ago and so long as you kept to the lower class and didn't talk about your exploits in public then you could get away with it," Rosa said.

"In any case, if we happen to have a few children sometime in the next few years I certainly won't object," Spencer said. "I'm more comfortable around children and I used to be, because both Dave and Penny and Aaron and Persephone have made me the godfather to quite a few of theirs and we keep in contact. Back when I was still mortal, I wasn't very comfortable around children and of course, they sensed that. They always made me incredibly nervous, as I never know how to interact with them, but considering I was never socialized when I was younger that's not surprising. I was too intelligent for the ones that were my age and the older ones didn't want anything to do with me. I should have been sent to a private school for children who were extremely intelligent, but my father never would've stood for such a thing, as he wanted me to go to public school just like he did and if my mother hadn't signed those forms for me to skip grades he never would have allowed it. He already thought I was too intelligent for my own good and he believed I should've gone through the grades one at a time instead of skipping so many. Classwork was incredibly easy for me as ought to be obvious since I did go to college at 12."

"I hate to say this about one of you're relatives, but he sounds like a right bastard," Rosa suggested delicately, hoping she hadn't offended him, but was relieved when Spencer laughed.

"Believe me I agree with you 100%," Spencer said with a smile. "I told the team after I learned to trust them that I wouldn't have bothered to stop and piss on him if he was on fire if we happened to encounter each other. I meant it then and I do now, although he's been dead for 150 or more years."

Rosa chuckled appreciatively at that. "I can certainly understand that, considering that he abandoned you, his own son and even while he was present he wasn't much of a father to you."

"That's the understatement of the century," Spencer muttered. "Here we are," Spencer added as he pulled into the parking lot of a nice apartment building.

"Nice place," Rosa said appreciatively as she looked around.

"Thank you," Spencer said grinning at her. "Just because I live in an apartment does not mean that I live somewhere cheap, as I have plenty of money now and so I chose somewhere that I never could have afforded when I was mortal. I have the corner apartment on the top floor which costs more than some of the others as it has an excellent view. The rent is considerably more than it was on my old apartment back when I was working for the BAU, but then FBI agents don't get paid all that much. Now though, even if I didn't live such a simple life, I could afford considerably more than this and if I really wanted to I could even own the building."

"I could too," Rosa agreed.

"Vampires if they're at all careful tend to accumulate money and I've invested a lot of what the Hotchners and the Rossis gave me back when I was first changed," Spencer added, as he parked in his usual spot and he and Rosa got out.

"I'm surprised that you don't live in the penthouse," Rosa teased him.

"It was already taken when I first came to live here just over a year ago," Spencer told her. "My corner apartment is big enough for my needs and I do have a very comfortable couch that can be turned into a bed in a jiffy."

"Well, good because I'm very eager to make love to you and complete the bond that we share," Rosa said with eagerness in her tone.

"Shall I show you my apartment, my lady?" Spencer asked as he offered her his arm.

"You shall," Rosa agreed, as she took his arm and Spencer happily escorted her into the building and up to his apartment.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

"This is really nice," Rosa said appreciatively after Spencer had opened the door to his apartment. She could see that her mate hadn't been kidding about his apartment being covered in bookcases and there were also books everywhere that it was possible to have them. "You definitely weren't kidding about having bookcases everywhere."

"I'm always been a bibliophile," Spencer shrugged looking rather sheepish.

"Well, at least you have a nice comfortable couch with a big screen TV," Rosa said appreciatively.

"I might be a bibliophile of the first-order, but I do, do other things," Spencer said, even as he started to unfold the couch into a bed.

"There are some sheets in the closet in the spare bedroom on the right," Spencer told Rosa who immediately went to fetch them.

Rosa returned with the sheets in less than a minute and helped Spencer make up the bed. With both of them helping and it was done only a minute later.

"Well, let's get started shall we?" Rosa said, as she slipped out of her clothes at vampire speed.

"Lights off," was all Spencer said while he was smiling at her tenderly, so tenderly that it nearly made Rosa catch her breath.

Both of them climbed onto opposite sides of the bed and then there weren't many sounds after that except for purrs, moans and whimpers of pleasure.

It wasn't too long later that the bond between them was completed, and while it shocked them with its strength that didn't stop them for very long from making love to each other.

It was over two days later when both of them were finally sated satisfied for the moment anyway.

"Well, for such a self-contained man you sure are a wildcat in bed," Rosa admitted smiling hugely.

"I've often heard that it's the quiet, self-contained ones that can be wildcats in bed," Spencer admitted, much happier than he ever had been in his entire life. The feeling of completeness that all his friends had tried to describe him, but hadn't really been able to now made sense. He felt at peace for the first time in his entire life and knew that so long as he had Rosa then he would be happy with her alone, but to also have Dave and Penny and Aaron and Persephone was just an added bonus. His doubts that they truly wanted him around were now banished for all time, as he now understood that Dave never would have changed him if he hadn't had at least genuine affection for him and seen him as a son or at least a nephew, even if he had never said so. He now knew that if he had said no, to Dave turning him and he had died that he would have been devastated and so would Aaron and Penny.

"Well, in your case that's definitely true," Rosa said grinning from ear to ear.

"I never was before so it's you that brings it out in me," Spencer admitted a little shyly.

"Well, hopefully it will be repeated a lot over the centuries, but now I believe we both need some blood," Rosa said.

"That would probably be wise," Spencer admitted. "Afterwards, we can go over to your place and get some of your things unless you'd rather just live over there."

"I think we'll have to live in both places until we find a suitable house or perhaps have one built," Rosa said. "You have too many books to fit in my apartment and I have too many possessions to fit in yours."

"Yes, that's probably best for the moment," Spencer agreed. "I'm now glad I didn't rip your clothes off to you as it would have required a trip to your apartment to pick out replacements, before we could go anywhere."

"You can do that next time," Rosa promised with a saucy wink. "And sometime in the next few months I'm going to update your wardrobe by about 30 years."

"Only 30?" Spencer laughed. "Back when I worked at the BAU some of my teammates claimed that I was about 50 or 60 years out of date when it came to fashion as if I had come from the 50s and 60s. I remember well how Emily, JJ and Penny tried to get me to update my wardrobe and back then I totally resisted all their efforts. Mom was never into fashion, but I'm sure I would've dressed more modernly if she hadn't had schizophrenia. My father certainly wasn't any help in that department. I never really cared about how I looked before, but now I know it's important to make a decent impression."

"From what I know you tried your best to look like an old college professor so that people would leave you alone and you succeeded in that," Rosa said.

"Yeah, I basically lived my life alone, except when I was working which was a great deal of the time," Spencer admitted. "It's not like I had any friends to spend time with, except the team of course. As a child I was very lonely. I now know it was partly how I dressed and acted, but it's not like I had an adult in my life, a mentor to teach me how to act and behave. Children's learn by example and all I learned from my father was how to abandon the people you're supposed to love."

Rosa growled at that and Spencer smiled at her.

"My past no longer matters, as I have you now not to mention Dave and Penny, Aaron and Persephone, as well as all their children they insisted on naming me godfather for. I might not see any of them often, but I know they genuinely love me."

"I can't wait to meet them," Rosa said as she kissed Spencer tenderly, which he responded to instantly. "We had better get dressed now, before we start going at it like rabbits again."

"We can do that when we get back from gathering up some of your personal affects," Spencer said and Rosa nodded eagerly.

The two rose reluctantly from the bed and begin to get dressed in the clothes they had discarded over two days previously. Once they were suitably clothed and looked presentable they both left the apartment not caring that it was in the middle of the night as there was always nightlife in New Orleans.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

The Bahamas

"This is really nice, Aaron," Persephone said appreciatively, as the two of them strolled hand-in-hand along a beach under the moonlight.

"Yes, it is," Aaron agreed, as he gave his mates handed gentle squeeze. "So Christmas isn't too far away..."

Persephone knew what Aaron was asking and so answered him.

"I think that Dave, Penny and perhaps Spencer should join us somewhere, although we'll have to decide on a destination," Persephone decided immediately. "I have to admit that I miss my sister and Dave too of course."

"Well, it has been several years since we've seen each other," Aaron said understandingly. "We've spent the last few years basically by ourselves, which the others understood. If you want to spend time with your sister, Dave and Spencer then that's okay with me, as I miss them to."

"Then that's what I want so long as none of them are too busy," Persephone decided.

"I doubt they're busy enough to not spend Christmas with us," Aaron said. "I suspect that they'll be very excited by the invitation since we turned down the last three wanting to spend the time by ourselves."

Neither one of them even thought about Thanksgiving since that was all about food and they couldn't eat. No, Christmas was really the major holiday for them, not that they didn't see those who they considered family at other times of the year, but Christmas was special and they usually spent the whole month of December together, sometimes even extending it into January.

Aaron was thankful every day that he had Persephone in his life and he made sure she knew it. She responded by loving him even more. Unlike her sister Penelope she didn't have confidence problems when it came to her looks and that was one way they differed in personality, even though they were identical twins. She knew Aaron loved her for herself and that was all she needed, to know that how attractive she was to others didn't matter since she had Aaron. Aaron thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, so she believed it, because it was only his opinion that mattered to her at least when it came to her looks.

"You're right," Persephone's agreed, as she and Aaron continued to walk slowly under the moonlight. "We need to start making plans considering it's already nearly the beginning of November, but I believe that can wait until tomorrow."

"Oh and what do you want to do until then?" Aaron smirked knowingly.

Persephone simply laughed and attacked him ripping his clothes from his body. She wasn't too worried about anybody seeing them, as it was late and they had their own private bungalow right on the beach.

Aaron laughed right along with her and then turned the tables on his mate as the two of them made love right there on the sand.

After a considerable amount of time of rolling around on the sand by kissing, licking and nipping each other Aaron entered his mate smoothly coming immediately in her body. Neither one of them paid attention to the water that was lapping at their ankles and lower legs, because it wasn't like they could drown. They did appreciate the nice, warm night though, because even though they couldn't get frostbite or freeze they still appreciated not being chilled or cold, especially since they were naked.

"Another round?" Aaron asked with his best puppy dog expression.

Aaron Hotchner was no longer the serious, unhappy, sad man that had first met Persephone Garcia 200 years ago. No, he had changed considerably in those two centuries and although he was still calm and serious he was a much happier person than he had once been.

Persephone simply giggled and reached up and put her arms around his neck bringing his face close enough so she could kiss him deeply.

"I'm always in the mood for that and we still have plenty of time before the sun rises," said Persephone, simply spreading her legs again to give Aaron easy access.

Aaron was on her in a split second and started making love to his mate again, making her climax multiple times, before he entered her again to relieve himself in her body.

It was several hours later as the sun started to rise over the horizon, that the two vampires who had been extremely horny for each other we're finally satisfied for the moment anyway.

"Let's take a dip in the ocean for awhile before we head back to our cozy, little nest," Persephone suggested.

"Sounds like an excellent idea to me," Aaron smiled. "I doubt that anybody will appear on the beach for at least another hour, hour and a half or so as it's only 5:30. Most people come here for vacation and aren't early risers when they don't have to be."

Aaron picked up Persephone and threw her into the ocean causing her to rise to the surface sputtering.

She glared at him for a few seconds water dripping off her long blonde hair and down her beasts, but then gave in and laughed. Aaron joined in before diving into the ocean himself. The two of them frolicked among the waves for over an hour before they finally made their way down the beach back towards their cozy little bungalow.

"So do you think you're pregnant?" Aaron asked, as soon as the two of them had into the dead cozy little nest. "That would be a great Christmas gift."

"Yes, it would," Persephone acknowledged knowing that Aaron and her hadn't had any children in a few decades. "I'm actually hoping that I am, because we haven't had any children in several decades, even longer then Penny and Dave."

"I know and I really don't understand it, not that I don't appreciate the time I've had alone with you," Aaron said.

"You're thinking with the way we go at it like a pair of rabid rabbits, that I should've gotten pregnant at least two or three times in the last 50 years or so," Persephone said finishing her mate's thoughts easily.

"More like 10 times, maybe even more," Aaron corrected, but still Persephone was basically right. "I would've said maybe five times if it wasn't for your magic as we both know that a female with magic gets pregnant easier than somebody born a vampire or just an ordinary human that was turned into one or at least that's our theory. Still, it's certainly logical. I do appreciate the time I've had alone with you, and I know Dave certainly appreciates the time he's had alone with your sister with no children as well but still, it's very strange that's all that we haven't had any children in fifty years."

"Only if it really is the fact, that me having magic is what enabled us to have children so close together in the first place," Persephone said.

"Still, we're not doing anything different than what we normally do, and nothing can stop a vampire female from conceiving, not that I know about anyway," Aaron said.

"Well, I did wish upon that shooting star about 50 years ago that I didn't want to get pregnant for a few decades," Persephone admitted. "My main reason was I wanted plenty of time alone with you without the possibility of conceiving. I never really believed that it would work, but that's the only thing I can think of that could have prevented me or Penny for that matter from having children."

"Well, is a good explanation as any for you anyway, because it's only been about 20 years since Dave and your sister have had children," Aaron said not saying that that couldn't possibly be the reason for Persephone and Penelope's not having children for the last few decades. He'd been a vampire for over 600 years now and had seen a lot of rather unusual things in those 6 centuries, but still, wishing on a shooting star and it actually granting whatever the wish was, was a little farfetched, even for him.

"You don't really believe that's the cause though," Persephone suggested shrewdly.

"I'm not saying it's not," Aaron admitted honestly. "It's just unlikely. It doesn't really matter what's preventing us from having anymore children, as you getting pregnant will happen when it happens. There's no rush as the more time I have alone with you the happier I am. You know I love every single child we've had, but the fact, that it's just it been you and me over the last 50 years has been great."

"Now that I agree with," Persephone said, as Aaron opened the door of the bungalow like a true gentleman for his mate.

"Thank you," Persephone said automatically, as it wasn't uncommon for Aaron to open doors that weren't automatic for her. In fact, he did it every time unless they opened electronically, which a lot of doors did in this century.

"You're quite welcome, sweetheart," Aaron said with an exaggerated bow, causing Persephone to giggle at his silliness, which had been Aaron's intent in the first place.

"I think we need to get dressed and get ourselves fed," Aaron said and Persephone nodded in agreement. "I think we'll go to one of those really busy dance clubs that's open, have a few drinks, to supplement our dinner," Aaron decided.

"Alright," Persephone agreed without arguing as it was a very good idea. "Let's have some dinner then, as I am really in the mood to dance now that you brought the subject up."

"So am I, which is why I suggested it, as holding you close is never a hardship. We have plenty of artificial bloodstock, as we made sure of that," Aaron agreed. "We can head to an all night dance club after nightfall. We probably should have eaten yesterday, but we got so busy that we didn't."

"You mean we were fucking each other senseless," Persephone said, smiling as she remembered how she and Aaron had made love for a long time. Aaron chuckled knowing exactly were his mate's thoughts had gone.

"Well, yes, I was just trying be polite about it," Aaron said, even as he kissed his mate deeply.

"There's no need to be so... restrained," Persephone suggested with a big smile.

"What can I say I was raised to be a gentleman and those traits I learned simply stuck," Aaron said.

"I like the gentleman side of you," Persephone showed him. "I also like the less gentlemanly side of you. I really love it when you just let loose and I love that I'm the only one that can cause you to be less then polite."

"Is that what you call it that time I killed that man simply because he tried his best to have his way with you?" Aaron chuckled, as he remembered. "He kept being very persistent when you kept turning him down. He truly believed you were playing hard to get and that your assets were for sale for the right price. Even showing him your wedding ring didn't stop him, as he believed that all females virtue was negotiable. He was a rapist in the making at least and I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't already had his way with several unwilling females."  
"I doubt he would've been so persistent if he had realized that I wasn't mortal, as he would've known that I would've torn him apart if you hadn't gotten there first," Persephone said.

"I just love that fierce side of you," Aaron grinned. "You certainly changed from the woman I first met."

"You can partly blame Steven for that," Persephone said and Aaron immediately understood what his mate was getting at. "I was so… innocent back then. Innocent of all the dangerous psychopaths that are out there. Oh, sure you saw them on TV shows but they really don't have to do with reality. Even if those shows are based on things that can really happen a lot of times you don't make the connection, because to you it's fantasy, not real. As for the rest…"

"The vampire transformation is also partly to blame," Aaron finished. "Our species are natural predators and while most of the time we don't kill we do occasionally depending on the situation. How much of a predator a vampire really is depends on personality, morals and ethics, just like it does with mortals."

"Exactly," Persephone agreed. "I never really agreed with some people when they said stuff like sometimes some people are so evil that they just need killing, but I know enough of the world now to realize that they were right. A serial rapist isn't going to change his spots for example."

"No indeed. Part of the problem you know is that you and your sister were raised pretty sheltered probably at least partly because you were female. You were born in the 60s when women were becoming more than housewives and mothers, but any good parent would want to shelter their children from the harsh realities of the world, especially their daughters. A lot of men believe that females should remain innocent and pure even today, much less back when you and Penelope were born."

"I know, but I think it's a rather antiqued view in this century and really it was old-fashioned even back when Penny and I were born," Persephone said.

"Yes, I agree with that," Aaron agreed, even as the two of them walked arm-in-arm to get themselves some dinner from the fridge. "You can't change some peoples views, but most women have careers nowadays and are perfectly able to balance their family with their work. Not always of course, as some people just can't do that and one or the other is neglected and it's not just women either who can't maintain a decent balance, but men too."

"It's often that person's family that gets neglected," Persephone said.

"Unfortunately, that's the truth," Aaron agreed. "Sometimes, you just don't realize how precious your family is do you until you've lost them. Plenty of spouses get so caught up in their work that they don't realize they're neglecting their family until it's too late to change anything. Nobody likes to feel like they're being ignored or neglected, by their significant other, as even vampires like to be appreciated every once in awhile, especially if they have somebody to come home to whether that's a mate or just someone they are spending a decade or two with."

"I was so unaware that there was true evil in the world when I was simply a witch who had taken over her parents business upon their deaths. Oh, I knew it in the back of my mind, but not in the depths of my heart," Persephone added. "As you said we were all pretty sheltered, but especially Penelope and I were sheltered more than the others, probably because we were the babies of the family."

"It's not something that most people think about," Aaron said. "Most people are so unaware of the criminal element that they're easy to be taken advantage of. To me that's plain stupid as you should always be aware that somebody can take advantage of you if you're not careful, though I do admit that as vampires we have certain advantages that humans, magicals and even werewolves do not."

"Some parents just raise their children in a pretty sheltered environment like me and my siblings were," Persephone said. "You're right though, that that just sets someone like me up to be taken advantage of, which is why Steven was able to get me into his clutches so easily. He paid me outrageous compliments and I truly thought he meant them. It didn't help that I was lonely as that made me more vulnerable to his honeyed words. I now know better, but if not for Penny who knows what would've happened with Steven. I'll always be grateful to my sister for warning me of the danger that Steven represented and also for introducing me to you. I truly believe that we never would've found each other if Penny hadn't happened to recognize the description I gave her."

"Yes, I'll be forever grateful to Penelope as well, because she led me to the love of my existence," Aaron told his mate in a very tender, loving tone of voice, causing Persephone to beam at him happily. "I've been so much happier these last two centuries ever since we found each other then I was in the four centuries before that, particularly the last hundred years of it. If she and Dave had not already found each other I probably would've tried to introduce her to some men I knew to see if there was any sparks or not. I would've done so in order to thank her for what she did, as I knew that she was rather lonely."

"She's certainly not lonely anymore," Persephone smirked.

"Definitely not," Aaron said returning the smirk.

"I'm actually rather glad that both of us met our mates, because Penny and I are exceptionally close, as you know and being identical twins is only part of that," Persephone said. "We might not see each other for a decade, but the connection we share is always there and it only got stronger when we were both turned into vampires."

"Yeah, I think it's pretty amazing that you can send see each other pretty clearly within 500 miles or so. I'm not sure it's ever happened to anybody else that's been turned into a vampire before, but then I'm not sure that twins, especially identical ones, have both been changed at the same time or even at different times. For all I know it might have something to do with the fact that you both have magic," Aaron said. "I'm not saying that it hasn't happened before, just that I've just never heard of it happening and if it has it's likely only been once."

"Well, that connection sure does come in handy occasionally," Persephone said smiling, as she remembered the times it had been very useful.

"Yes, it does," Aaron agreed.

"You know I miss Markos and my other siblings sometimes, but not as much as I would've missed my twin sister, because she would be dead by now or at least very old if she wasn't a vampire," Persephone said.

"That's only natural really," Aaron said. "I'm certainly glad that Penny was changed to, as we've gotten much closer than we were when we both worked for the BAU, because as you aware with me being the boss and she my subordinate we had to maintain a certain distance. Of course, we got closer once she and Dave found each other, mostly because I know that she would soon be a vampire and would be around for a very long time."

"Still, you had to maintain a certain professionalism," Persephone said.

"Yeah, I did, but that's way past, as I've been retired for a long time now and I so have Spencer, Dave and Penny as well as you and that's pretty unusual for vampires to be so close to so many people, as we're usually pretty solitary with maybe one close friend that is also immortal," Aaron said. "I think I've been pretty lucky actually."

"I'm certainly glad that you've retired as we didn't get to spend as nearly as much time together as we both would've liked," Persephone admitted. "I never said anything before, because I know you loved your job and I didn't want to force you into a decision. I will never stand between you and a job you love."

"Well, we don't need to worry about that right now, as I haven't found anything I'd really be interested in pursuing for a career," Aaron said. "That will likely change at some point, but not for awhile."

"If it does I'll support you," Persephone promised.

"That's the way it should be," Aaron said. "I certainly supported you when you wanted to open a chain of shops all over the world."

"Yep and thanks to your support my chain of shops is a huge success," Persephone grinned, as she was quite proud of herself for there was a shop with magical supplies, potions, amulets and other magicals things in just about every major city in the world and not just in the US. "I'm sure that I wouldn't have been able to open a shop just about everywhere there is a magical quarter without my immortality, but also without your support and Penny's and Dave's too."

"It was your dream and I was happy to help you fulfill it," Aaron told his mate in a tender tone of voice.

"I know and I'll be forever grateful that we met and not for that reason," Persephone said, even as she gave his hand a squeeze. "Let's go, shall we? And then we need to contact all the relevant parties to see if they want to spend Christmas somewhere exotic or even somewhere more mundane, like maybe a ski resort. We need to make a decision sometime in the next week or so before we can't make any reservations, because whatever place we choose is all full up."

"Your wish is my command," Aaron said in a very lighthearted tone of voice smiling widely.

"Of course it is," Persephone teased him in the same tone. "I'm ready to dance the night away in your arms, so we can finish this conversation later."

Aaron nodded and fell silent.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"We've received a Christmas invitation from Aaron and your sister," Dave told Penelope.

"So they want us to get together this year," Penelope said and Dave nodded. "Sounds like a fine idea to me. I miss them both, but especially Persephone."

"I understand," Dave said simply, as he took his gorgeous wife into his arms. "I miss them both to Aaron in particular, probably because we've known each other for a long time, though really only a few decades longer than I've known Persephone."

"I understand, the two of you worked together for several decades at least and then kept in contact, even after you retired the first time," Penelope said. "What about Spencer though?"

"I'm sure he got an invitation to," Dave assured his mate. "While we don't know where he is at the moment he still has the same cell phone number and email address and I'm sure that one of the Hotchners texted or emailed him to let him know about plans for the holidays. He'll be there and you know it, since we haven't seen him in several years. Neither Aaron or Persephone would forget about him."

"Yes, yes, you're right," Penelope agreed.

"I'll make sure he's coming, once all the arrangements have been made. All we need to do right now is make suggestions as to where we want to have our holidays this year. Preferably somewhere we haven't been before," Dave explained.

"Well, even if we choose somewhere we've been I doubt we've seen everything there is to see," Penelope shrugged. "The important thing is spending time with people we like and respect."

"You're right," Dave agreed. "Still, I'm hoping that we'll all decide on somewhere that we have yet to explore."

"Yes, that would be an added bonus," Penelope said. "Still, I can hardly wait to see my sister in a few weeks, Aaron and Spencer too of course."

"It's obvious who's the most important to you," Dave told her causing Penelope the giggle at Dave's gentle teasing. "I can't really blame you actually, since you are related by blood and you grew up together, so I'm not exactly surprised that you've missed Persephone over the last three years. Every woman needs a girlfriend that they can discuss female things with."

"And I haven't been able to do that for three years, though sometimes I discuss some things with our neighbors, but since we're not really close there're some things you just don't discuss with someone you're only casual friends with."

"Or with a man," Dave suggested smiling.

"Or with a man," Penelope repeated kissing Dave tenderly.

"Fine, keep your secrets," Dave pouted playfully. "I know when I'm not wanted."

"Don't be silly I'll always want and need you," Penelope assured him, "but they are just some things you don't discuss with another man, even your husband or mate. You wouldn't be interested anyway."

"No, I wouldn't be," Dave said. "Aaron, Spencer and I can hang out together while you're discussing girlish secrets with your sister. Maybe we can play pool," Dave added looking thoughtful. "We haven't had a chance to do that in awhile and it won't hurt any of us to brush up on our skills."

"Playing pool isn't really a challenge since you're all vampires," Penelope pointed out.

"Maybe not, but it's still fun," Dave shrugged. "Well, so long as those playing are all vampires."

"That's a point," Penelope acknowledged. "With your superior eyesight and coordination if you played against someone mortal unless you were holding way back a vampire would definitely win."

"With me playing against Aaron and Spencer who have the same reflexes, coordination and eyesight that I do, even if there might be some degree of difference between individual vampires depending on their physical attributes when they were changed we're still, basically on a level playing field," Dave said. "If there is any difference it is going to be minimal."

"Still, it's a decent idea," Penelope said. "It'll give the three of you time to bond even farther or at least spend time together, even though you've known each other for a very long time."

"While that's true, we also haven't seen each other in three years at least, which is not unusual I know, for vampires who like to travel. However, when you're as close to another vampire as we are to those three it's not unusual to spend a great deal of time together doing whatever we want."

"I know," Penelope said. "You've told me often enough that while it's rather uncommon for a vampire to form a close connection to anyone, especially mortals it does happen."

"Unless they're your mate of course," Dave said smiling.

"Yes, unless they're your mate," Penelope agreed. "You've told me why a lot of our kind doesn't like to form close connections anyone, particularly if they're mortal. While I can understand a vampires point of view, I think it's a shame for them to have only associates or acquaintances, but not close friends unless they're another vampire. Yes, I can understand that the grief of loss, would be hard for someone who's immortal to get over, basically because they never really do at least not completely. On the other side of the coin though, I think that some of our kind at least are denying themselves friendship and even love no matter how temporary, which is something that every sentient being needs to be happy. Doing so is stupid and insane in my opinion. I firmly believe that if you deny yourself something that is essential to who you are, to your health and happiness and that is what causes mortals and immortals alike to go bad because they stop caring about others and may start killing indiscriminately. Yes, I realize that vampires have a hard time getting over losing someone, but we're basically human or at least we have human emotions."

"Yes I firmly believe that we wore created in the human image," Dave said. "We could be some kind of experiment for all I know, but considering how long our kind has existed that is rather unlikely. It's more likely that vampires are simply a mutation of humans, which means that yes, we were once human or least once mortal, so it stands to reason that we have at least some similarities."

"I have to agree because why would a vampire be able to change a human or a magical or werewolf into one of them if we weren't once human?" Penelope asked rhetorically. "We look basically human after all, just with impenetrable skin, the ability to live forever so long as certain conditions are not met and the ability to not age."

"Yes, that is all the main points of our species, although there are other attributes that vampires have, but you know them so there's no point of me saying what they are out loud," Dave said agreeing with everything that his mate had just said, because she was of course, correct. "Now though we need to send a list of where we like to go for Christmas celebrations and the others will do the same. We all need to agree on where to meet and start making reservations at a five-star hotel."

Penelope snorted in amusement at that, because if there was one thing she had learned it was that David Rossi was never going to stay anywhere less than a four star unless it was absolutely necessary. He had done so when he had been a member of the behavioral analysis unit because he had no choice and he hadn't even complained to much according to Aaron, but then he hadn't really had to spend much time in whatever room was assigned to him, as vampires didn't sleep. Now that he didn't have a job though, he was free to stay where he liked and Penelope couldn't really blame him for not wanting to stay in somewhere similar to Motel 6 just to save money, considering between them they would never go to go broke. Besides he had been born before such things as fine hotels, fine dining or even money had really existed. Now while they couldn't eat that didn't mean that they couldn't enjoy the finer things in life so long as it didn't involve food. Penelope knew that her mate had camped out in somebody's barn more then once just to be able to rest his horse or to get out of the rain. Vampires might not be able to get sick, but that didn't mean that any of them enjoyed feeling like drowned rats, as she certainly didn't so why should anybody else.

"Alright then, let's start suggesting places that we haven't seen yet that we want to," Penelope suggested.

Dave nodded and started suggesting places that he knew his mate hadn't seen, but he had at some point as he had traveled the world both before and after the original Penelope's death. After his original mate's death, though he might have traveled a great deal trying to outrun his anguish, anger and sorrow, he hadn't really taken in the sites, as he hadn't wanted to. Really, all he had wanted to do was kill himself and only his promise to his mate had allowed him to survive. No, he had been a ghost of his former self and the sorrow and anguish just poured off him, which a lot of people could pick up on, even humans who had very weak senses compared to a vampire or even a werewolf.

Now though, he had been very happy have a since his Penelope had been reborn just over 200 years ago.

"Well, there's a many places that I still haven't seen," Penelope said.

"I won't mind visiting anywhere really, because after your incarnations death I might've traveled a great deal, never settling down, but I didn't exactly take in the sites as I was too full of anguish, anger and sorrow for a long time. Decades at the very least. I felt as if I had been shot in the heart and was only halfway living my life because your incarnation wanted me to. By the time you were born and we met again those negative emotions I had been feeling for so long had mostly been buried. They were still there, but at least I could operate mostly normally again, pay attention to my surroundings, carry on normal conversations. Still, I couldn't stop those emotions I was feeling from radiating off me and anybody with finely tuned senses, even human sometimes could sense it. That all changed though, the minute that you walked back into my life and all those negative emotions that I had been feeling for centuries just suddenly popped like a soap bubble."

"I'm glad that you don't feel those emotions anymore for they're not exactly good for you or for anybody," Penelope said gently, as she cuddled into his arms. "I'm not saying you didn't deserve to feel those negative emotions, just that I wish you hadn't had to go through that."

"I wish I hadn't had to go through it either, bella," Dave said, "but what's done is done and now that I have you I doubt I'll ever feel such intense hatred, rage, anguish and sorrow ever again. I'm sure I'll feel those emotions at some point if something happens, but I doubt I'll ever feel them as intensely or for as long. However, let's talk about something more cheerful, as there is no point of dwelling on what happened many centuries ago."

"No, there's not," Penelope agreed, as the two of them discussed what places they both really wanted to see. "While I would love to see New York or Chicago, neither of which we've seen, I think somewhere overseas is best. Maybe somewhere like Rome. We could even ask your parents to join us for part of the holiday since they live in Italy."

"We don't necessarily have to be in Italy to invite my parents to join us for the holiday," Dave said. "I'm sure that they would enjoy exploring somewhere like New York, which is fine, as I'm pretty sure they've never seen or if they have I don't know about it. Besides, cities change over decades and especially centuries and while I've been to New York it was hundreds of years ago and things have changed a lot since then. I'm not talking about for the purpose of work, but for enjoyment or even to settle down there for awhile."

"Yes I understood what you meant," Penelope promised him. "Going to New York for the purpose of work like you did with the BAU isn't the same as going for vacation. It's not like you had time to see the sites while you were trying to catch some serial killer or rapist."

"Oh, Aaron and I at least could've done so once everybody else was bedded down for the night we just never bothered," Dave shrugged. "Most places that we would've wanted to see would've been closed by the time we finished work for the evening anyway."

"That's something I hadn't thought of, but you're right," Penelope said. "Tourist attractions don't stay open all night, not unless it's something like a night club."

Finally, they came up with a list of five different options of where they would like to go for the Christmas holidays and immediately sent text to their friends of the places they had decided on.

"So now that that's done for the moment what do you want to do?" Dave asked smiling at his gorgeous wife.

"Well, how about we simply get out of the house for a couple of hours anyway," Penelope suggested. "It doesn't really matter where we go, as I'll allow you to choose the destination. It doesn't have to be anywhere really fancy, it could even be some bar where we can enjoy glasses of blood mixed with alcohol."

"I know just the place," Dave said immediately. "It's a place where the two of us can enjoy some drinks, but also dance as much as we want. I just love holding you as close as possible and you know it. We don't even have to worry about some minor criminal trying to put a roofie in our drinks, because even if they do we'll be able to tell immediately and it's not like that kind of thing will affect us."

"That's true," Penelope agreed. "We should be grateful that we aren't affected by alcohol, no matter how much we drink."

"One advantage of being a vampire," Dave grinned. "We can even see if we can discover who put those drugs in our drinks and if we do you know what will happen."

"Yeah, I do," Penelope sighed.

"I know you don't like what we do to people like that, but just because we can't be affected by drugs it doesn't mean nobody else can be," Dave gently reminded his mate. "The only reason somebody puts a roofie in somebody's drink is to either sell them into something like slavery or to rape them and sometimes even kill them after they're done having their way. I'm not a member of law enforcement anymore, so I'm welcome to deal with people like that anyway I want to. I've seen so much of that kind a thing in my centuries and rape always destroys sense of self and a lot of people particularly females never recover mentally or emotionally. Rape is one of the worst crimes out there in my humble opinion even worse then murder, because it destroys a person's self-confidence and a lot of rape victims kill themselves after they been so brutally violated. Even if they don't..."

"I know," Penelope said putting the gentle hand on Dave's arm. She couldn't really blame him for hating those that raped others and also those took advantage of children. She knew that Dave had experienced the brutal side of humanity in his centuries, as he had been born at a time before men and women were even a little civilized. Even today lot of people took advantage of others and got away with it so she could really blame Dave for hating certain types of crime more than others.

She knew very well that Dave didn't see himself as a white knight type, but he did have a chauvinistic streak, particularly when it concerned innocent females or children who couldn't protect themselves. That was one of the reasons he had taken to Spencer all those years ago because the young man still had an innocence about him, even if he was anything but. Back when Dave had been born, protecting those that were considered weaker than yourself was positively expected, although that wasn't true so much today, which was a shame in a way.

Also considering that he had been born as a vampire everybody, except another male vampire would be weaker than him, which only enhanced that chauvinistic streak. Dave often went out of his way to help a woman in trouble, no matter the species and Penelope absolutely loved that particular trait of her mate's as it showed that he was just a big softy or at least had a heart filled with compassion for others.

"Yeah, I know you do considering how much I've told you the same thing over the last couple hundred years," Dave smiled kissing his mate softly for putting up with him.

"I wouldn't try to change you for who you are for anything in the world," Penelope told Dave finally. "I've seen enough over the centuries to know that not all humans are good, not that working in the BAU didn't disabuse me of that notion anyway."

"You just like to see the best in people and while I love your gentle, caring nature mortals or vampires for that matter are messed up," Dave said and Penelope nodded, because she knew it was true.

Some people just loved to take advantage of anyone they could whether that was someone who was naïve, an innocent, an elderly person, a woman or a child. She knew that Aaron shared a lot of her mates attributes, particularly when it came to helping those that couldn't help themselves. She also knew that Persephone was a lot tougher when it came to distributing justice on someone who had taken advantage of an innocent, especially if she knew that they had done so on multiple occasions and would continue to do so if not dealt with permanently. It wasn't like either Dave or Aaron went looking for criminals to get rid of, but if they happened to spot a crime in progress then they were going to help out. Vampires were always aware of someone trying to sneak up on them, as they had very good hearing and senses of smell. No mortal was able to sneak up on a vampire, unless they were very distracted, which didn't happen very often

"I know, I'm not a total innocent as you're well aware of," Penelope said. "I've even helped you get rid of some of those criminals that take advantage of others."

"I always appreciate when you do help out," Dave grinned. "It shows a sense of unity for one thing. I just wish that you didn't feel so guilty afterwards."

"I can't help my feelings of guilt," Penelope said. "My subconscious keeps yelling at me that I have no right to make such decisions, no matter how evil that person happens to be. It keeps telling me to turn them over to law enforcement, even though I know that if they went to prison they wouldn't get more than a few years before they were released and since I'm well aware that rapist and murderers aren't suddenly going to change to become decent citizens. If I had been born a vampire like you were I know very well it would be different, but I wasn't. I'm only glad I can't actually sleep as I'm sure I'd have nightmares if I could."

"I do understand," Dave said as he kissed the side of his mate's neck, directly over where he had placed his mating mark, a mark that told others of his kind that this particular vampire female was taken. He wore his own proudly, so as it let other vampires know that he too was taken.

"I know very well that law enforcement does the best it can, but they're underfunded and underpaid," Penelope added. "It was like that even when we both worked for the BAU and it's probably always been like that."

"And you forgot to mention that they're are few enough that actually care what kind of job they do and make sure that they don't put the wrong man behind bars just because of circumstantial evidence. Something like that happens far too often and yes, I'm more aware than most that the system isn't perfect. Still, there are checks and balances in place and they work most of the time," Dave said.

"Yes, I'm well aware that a lot of law enforcement officers just mark time waiting for retirement," Penelope sighed.

"Why don't you get dress up. The place I want to take is really fancy," Dave suggested and Penelope nodded eagerly for she loved dressing up.

"I'm not even going to ask if you're sure you can get us in at this late date just by showing up, because I know how you operate by now," Penelope said in an exasperated tone before she headed upstairs.

Dave snorted at that, but had to admit that his mate was correct in the fact that she knew how he operated, even if she didn't like some of his methods, but that was only because she was too honest and a gentle soul to boot while he was not. There were certain things that he would never do, but bribery wasn't one of them, as it often opened doors that would otherwise be closed and also got you information out of the reluctant. Of course, he called them donations or incentives instead of bribes, but it amounted to the same thing and his mate was well aware of that fact.

Dave followed Penelope upstairs as he needed to get dressed up himself and he certainly didn't mind it, especially not with a beautiful woman like his mate on his arm. He knew very well he would be the envy of every man that saw him with Penelope and that was just the way he liked it, even though he knew that Penny didn't like to be pawed over like a piece of meat or at least looked at that way. It wasn't is if he would ever allow another man to touch his mate, except Aaron or Spencer since they had no romantic interest. He knew that Penny didn't appreciate being treated like an object, something he would never do, but that didn't mean that she wasn't his property, his to love and protect and his mate was well aware of how vampires thought by now, especially ones as old as he was.

She didn't mind it, because he treated her like a queen and an equal and knew that it was just part of a vampire's mindset, especially ones in the century in which he had been born. Females were to be protected at all cost back when Dave had been a child, not vampire female so much as they could protect themselves for the most part, but mortals definitely. That early childhood training had carried over into his personality to where it was as unchangeable as the sun rising and setting.

Still, vampires changed with the times, or they stuck out like sore thumbs and Dave had done a good job of modernizing his thinking, even if he was still very old-fashioned in certain ways. Penelope loved him for his old-fashioned manners, because so many people were so rude today. She also loved him for at least trying to be as modern as possible. Somehow he blended both into his personality to where he was mostly modern, but with old-fashioned manners and sometimes actions depending on the situation.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

"I just got a text about Christmas," Spencer told his mate.

"So it's something you do every year?" Rosa asked.

"Most years," Spencer corrected, "but for the last three we didn't get together. Mostly it was Aaron and Persephone who just wanted to be alone for the holidays. I didn't take offense, because I know that happens sometimes, even though they been mated for just over 200 years now. Looks like our little gatherings are back on at least for this year."

"So what do you do for Christmas?" Rosa asked.

"Well, we don't do the food side of the holiday as there is no point. Still, Christmas is about spending time with family not necessarily about food or exchanging presents. The Hotchners and the Rossis are my family and now you are to. Basically, we spend time together just talking and exchanging presents, perhaps seeing the sites wherever we decide to have our holiday. We usually spend at least the whole month of December together and sometimes January. We have many little Christmas traditions wherever we decide to go for that year. While we mostly spend the time as a group we do give each other private time when necessary or wanted. Still the main point is to spend time with the people you don't see very often, just a few times a year and sometimes not even that much."

"Sounds really nice," Rosa decided.

"Yeah, it really is," Spencer smiled. "It forces me to interact with other people, but since I'm already close to them I don't mind. We always have a lot of fun I have to admit and the ladies in particular like to force me out of my comfort zone."

"Well, I think I'll like Penelope and Persephone a lot," Rosa grinned.

"I'm sure you'll get along like a house on fire," Spencer's predicted. "I'm sure you'll be dragged by them for a girls night out while we men entertain ourselves as it happens every time we see each other. I won't be surprised if some gambling is involved when it's just us men because sometimes we choose somewhere that has a casino, even if it's not like the ones in Las Vegas. Sometimes we just buy into a high stakes game of poker that's being played in some back room somewhere."

"So do you lose or win?" Rosa asked.

"I usually win actually," Spencer grinned smugly. "I grew up in Las Vegas after all and I did get a math degree a couple of centuries ago now. Unless I'm downplaying my talent I usually get everybody's money by the time we're done. Of course, I end up losing a few hands during the course of the night on purpose just so they won't think I'm cheating or something. Not Aaron and Dave of course, but whoever else is playing."

"Well, I can't wait to see that," Rosa giggled. "Playing against mortals is really no fun because you can tell when they're nervous or lying."

"I know it's another reason I really don't do it often is it doesn't seem fair since as vampires we have numerous advantages. Of course, if I'm playing against other vampires like Dave and Aaron it's a totally different matter. Unfortunately, by now, they know better then to play against me very often as I usually clean them out."

"I like to play poker sometimes," Rosa admitted.

"Maybe we can do that sometime in the future," Spencer offered, smiling at the thought.

"So I take it that Penelope and Persephone don't like to play poker much?" Rosa asked.

"It's not that they don't like to play just that they're not very good at it, have too many tells," said Spencer. "They don't have the best poker faces I'm afraid, although I never tell them that as they would just be upset with me and I wouldn't want to hurt their feelings deliberately."

"Well, not everybody is good at poker," Rosa shrugged and Spencer agreed.

"So you want me to text him back to let them know that I'll be there and that I'll be bringing a surprise guest?" Spencer asked.

"Absolutely, I'd love to meet them," Rosa said. "I doubt very much that I'll be much of a surprise though, because they're bound to guess that you met your mate, considering all you've told me about yourself and your family."

"You're right, I won't surprise them, since I've never brought a guest before," Spencer answered immediately knowing that Rosa was right. "Still, as I told you when we first met just three months ago they'll be very happy for me. You'll immediately become part of the family."

"Which is just fine," Rosa said smiling. "I would love to invite my father as well, so he can meet you, but this first time it's better if it's just us and your family."

"Maybe next year," Spencer said. "I would be glad to meet your father at some point."

"You will eventually meet him, but it doesn't have to be right away," Rosa said. "Let's just concentrate on us for the foreseeable future and me meeting those that you consider family."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Spencer said a smile stretching his face, which was unusual, although not so much in the last three months. "I'm hoping we get lucky and you'll get pregnant over the holidays."

"That would be great," Rosa decided. "I'm not really surprised I haven't gotten pregnant yet, since vampire females don't conceive very easily for the most part."

"Unless you have magic," Spencer reminded her and Rosa nodded.

"Unfortunately, I don't have magic like Persephone and Penelope do, but still, as mates we should conceive more easily simply because mates have sex a lot and we are also very compatible," Rosa said.

Spencer would have blushed if he could have, because he was still rather uncomfortable about discussing such a thing, even though it was just with Rosa with no one else present.

Rosa and noticed his reaction and said nothing, but was determined to get Spencer to where he wasn't uncomfortable about talking about such things at least with her.

His father's lack of parenting was affecting Spencer even today as she suspected that he would be much more confident in certain ways if not for his lousy scumsucking daddy, who didn't realize what a treasure he'd had and instead resented his son at the very least. Rosa almost wished that William Reid hadn't been dead for a very long time now so that she could beat him up or even torture him for a very long time for what he had done to his only son. She only hoped that the man was burning in hell. Rosa just knew if his mother hadn't been so sick that Spencer would've had a better childhood, but she didn't blame Diana Reid at all because she had been ill. No, his father was to blame no one else and Rosa would hate him until her dying day, even though he had been dead for many years.

Rosa didn't voice her opinions though, as Spencer already knew what she thought of his father's parenting skills, but instead she gave her mate a tender kiss.

"Why don't you send your family a message back and tell them you'll be there and that you'll be bringing a guest and after that I think it's time we get out of the house and do something else for awhile. As much as I love staying here with you I just think that we need to do something else for a few hours anyway."

The two of them had found a house just last month and paid for it in one go, so they didn't have to worry about a house payment. The house was quite large and there was plenty of room for numerous children in it as they didn't need to sleep. Rosa doubted that she and Spencer would have more than one at a time, but since Spencer had been a werewolf before he was transformed into a vampire it was possible they would have multiples at least sometimes. Still, she wasn't pregnant yet, as she would have known within a few days since vampire fetuses grew so quickly, but she was really hoping to get pregnant soon, as she would love to have a child by her mate or even several of them. It would really be a dream come true and she knew her father would be thrilled not only that she had found her mate, but had had at least one child by him.

"Okay," Spencer agreed and rapidly started talking to his cell phone. It didn't take more than a couple of minutes to tell the phone the message and have it send it to the appropriate parties. "So now that that's done what do you want to do for a few hours?"

Rosa thought about it and then came up with the suggestion and Spencer nodded.

"Sounds like fun, let's go," Spencer agreed, smiling.

Both of them walked towards the front door of their house Spencer making sure to set the alarm and lock up before heading for his car, Rosa following behind.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"Well it look like Spencer's bringing a plus one," Penelope said, after she had read Spencer's text message.

"He is?" Dave asked immediately interested.

"That's what his text message says," Penelope said showing Dave her phone. "Do you think…"

"That his plus one is actually his mate? Yes I do," Dave immediately answered, knowing what Penelope was implying. "We know how shy he is around other people, particularly the opposite sex and I don't see him suddenly changing habits of a lifetime, unless of course, this woman is his mate, especially with none of us there to force him to try new things and get him out of his comfort zone."

"You're right. If what we suspect this true I'm so happy for him," Penelope finally squealed.

"I don't see Spencer introducing us to anybody unless it's his mate," Dave said. "He might have been involved in at least one relationship over the years, but if he was he was very subtle about it."

"Well, I can't wait to meet her," Penelope said still very excited for the man she considered a brother.

"Neither can I," Dave said. "And I'm also very happy for him as I know he's been rather lonely. However, if he has met his mate like we both know he has, well, he'll slowly transform from that sad lonely man into a much happier one. Remember, I was basically, the same way before we met again, even if it was for totally different reason. Having you in my life though, slowly changed me into how I was before your incarnation was killed so many centuries ago now, but with differences."

"Yes, you've changed a lot in the last 200 years," Penelope agreed slowly. "It was a very subtle change that happened over several decades. I think it's because you started to take joy in life again once we had met. After my incarnations death you couldn't seem to be happy, which I now understand was because you had lost your mate. I understood before that's true, but not on a really deep emotional level like I do now. The two of us have been together for so long that I know it would destroy me to lose you now, so I better understand how you feel when you lost my incarnation. It would be like ripping apart my own soul if anything were to happen to you, so I can understand why mates don't usually survive their partner's deaths. You're the only case that either one of us is aware of that has ever survived the loss of a mate and only because my incarnation promised to come back to you. That doesn't mean however, that you weren't in a great deal of emotional anguish for those 600 years. The thought of losing you terrifies me, just so you know."

"You don't have to worry, bella, I'm not going anywhere," Dave promised, in a sensual tone of voice.

"I know that," Penelope promised. "I was just telling you that I understand better the anguish you went through for those six centuries before I was finally reincarnated. I can't imagine how you got through those 600 years after my incarnations death, but you did and that's all that matters. As for Spencer, yes, I suspect he'll subtly change over the next few decades until he's the confident man he always should have been. Yes, he's confident in most ways, but in others he definitely is not, but I can see his mate whatever her name is forcing him out of his comfort zone on a regular basis, until he's comfortable in all kinds of situations."

"That's what I suspect will happen over time as well," Dave agreed kissing his mate gently. "However, when you love someone as much as mates love each other, you do what they want you to whether or not you're comfortable doing it. So long as his mate has a strong enough personality to force him to do things he's not comfortable with I agree he'll slowly change over time just like I did when we met again. Also having children will change him as well."

"I'm wonder if his mate is a vampire or a mortal," Penelope asked rhetorically, not really expecting an answer.

"I don't know, but will find out in a few weeks," Dave said. "I really hope she is a vampire so that we don't have to worry about changing her into one, as there is that whole newborn year to get through, not to mention having problems that all newborns have it first, even once they're passed the first year or so of their existence."

"Yes, you told me that a lot of newborns, ones less then a decade old often have trouble controlling their emotions a lot of times," Penelope remembered.

"That didn't matter so much for you or Persephone because you were already mated, so that meant your emotions were steadier and that meant you were less likely to go off on some wild tangent that could have landed you in trouble," Dave said.

"Well, the same should be true for Spencer's mate and that's only if she's not already a vampire," Penelope offered.

"True," Dave agreed. "Still, I wouldn't want to go through the whole newborn stage again as you know we'd help Spencer out, since he's basically family. You know that Aaron and Persephone would say the same."

"That's something I hadn't thought of, but you're right," Penelope considered. "Let's hope that she's a vampire then, so we don't have to worry about turning her into one."

"Well, no matter whether she's already a vampire of not we'll still accept her into the family," said Dave and Penelope nodded in full agreement. "I'll have a ring with the Rossi crest made for her and I already know that Aaron will do the same thing with the Hotchner one."

Dave and Aaron knew each other so well that they could often predict what they would do in most any situation.

"Yeah, he will," Penelope agreed. "Spencer has been part of the family since we all worked in the BAU together, but he became even more so when you saved his life all those years ago, something I will always be grateful for. That's not to say I don't miss the others Morgan especially, but Spencer was always my baby while Morgan was my best friend. I'll always miss him, Emily and JJ and the others that came after them, but I'm grateful Spencer at least we saved from dying too young."

"You're trying to say that since Spencer is already family then that makes his mate automatically family to," Dave said knowing how his mate thought and Penelope nodded.

"Exactly," Penelope agreed. "I can hardly wait to get to know Spencer's mate and I'm sure that Persephone feels the same. She'll definitely be included in girl time when we get together for the holidays."

"I'm sure she'll love that," Dave told Penelope.

"Probably, although not every woman enjoys the sort of thing like getting her nails done," said Penelope.

"Well, it will only be a few weeks before we know what she's like," Dave said. "I know you are excited to meet her, but you can wait that long."

"If you say so," Penelope said in a teasing tone.

"I know it will be hard for you, but you'll manage," Dave teased his mate right back.

"So when do you think Spencer met her?" Penelope asked.

"Well, sometime in the last three years, but I suspect that it's only been a few months since they met," Dave said. "I don't see Spencer keeping her to himself for three years without introducing her to all of us, although one year is certainly a possibility. Now, if we weren't stepping in and out of each others lives frequently then maybe Spencer would've been able to keep his mate to himself for years without us finding out, but considering how often we see each other I just don't see that as a possibility."

"I think you're right, as I don't see Spencer keeping such an important news from his family for more than a few months anyway," Penelope decided and Dave nodded. "He knows we genuinely love him for himself and don't care about all his hangups since all of us have them. Finding your mate is not exactly very common, so I think that he would be really excited to tell those he was close to, though not right away of course."

"No one's perfect," Dave said, "Not even vampires."

"It's a good thing though that you and Aaron pounded everything you knew about vampires into his skull, particularly about mates, because I'm not entirely sure he would trust this female at all despite what his instincts would be telling him if not for those lessons."

"He would give in eventually, but it would caused a lot of emotional pain for both of them," Dave said soberly. "No vampire, can deny their instincts forever, as the mating instinct is incredibly strong, as you well know. Now, while Spencer has a very strong will his vampire instincts would be fighting with the rest of him, so no, he wouldn't be denying his instincts for very long. Even if he was to flee his mate would only follow him. On the other hand, you've made a very good point, thanks to the lessons that Aaron and I made sure he learned about vampires I doubt very much he'll be fighting his instincts like he probably would have otherwise. That those lessons were taught by people he trusts will only help, so no, I won't be surprised if his mate is already pregnant when we do meet."

"Now that would be a great Christmas gift," Penelope squealed.

"Yes, it would be, but there's no guarantees since vampires aren't exactly as fertile as other species. That we can have children at all is a miracle really," Dave said.

"You're right," Penelope agreed. "Even mates have trouble having children a lot of times, except for the two of us, Aaron and Persephone, because we were witches before we were vampires. We have had a lot of children before 20 years ago," Penelope said.

"We did and I have no explanation as to why we stopped having them," Dave said.

"Let's not worry about it. I'm sure that we'll start having children again at some point. Let's just enjoy our children free lives while we can, just like we've been doing," Penelope suggested. "Maybe my body just wanted to allow me to rest or something from having children for awhile or maybe it was my innermost desire to not get pregnant for a few decades and God or whatever granted that wish. I'm not saying that's what happened, just that it's at least a reasonable explanation for why we haven't had any children for 20 years. Worrying about it will only cause us not to have children for longer, because you know what worry and stress can do to a woman's body, even a vampire's."

"Alright, we won't worry about it," Dave finally agreed.

"Besides, we can always adopt you know like we have in the past," Penelope suggested. "Adopt some well-deserving werewolf children that are orphans through no fault of their own. Just because we haven't adopted in the last two decades doesn't mean we can't do so now."

"Yes, we can," Dave agreed. "We'll worry about that after the holiday though."

"Sounds like a plan," Penelope agreed smiling.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

December 1st

San Juan, Puerto Rico

"Spencer!" A female voice squealed, one that Spencer recognized instantly. He was being hugged just seconds later, as a hefty blond woman jumped into his waiting arms, which had automatically come up in front of him.

Rosa watched this with amusement, already knowing that this was one of the women that her mate often talked about, although at the moment she didn't know whether it was Persephone or Penelope.

That mystery was solved though, just seconds later.

"How are you doing Penny," Spencer greeted hugging his sister in every way back.

"I'm much better now that all of us are together again," Penelope answered honestly.

"Yes, we are," Spencer agreed smiling, a genuinely happy smile that was pretty rare on his face, though not so much in the last few months since he had met Rosa. "So where's Dave, Aaron and your sister?"

"They're waiting for us in the bar," Penelope explained. "They knew that I wanted to be the first to greet you."

"You wanted to be the first to meet my mate," Spencer corrected still smiling, his brown eyes twinkling. "I'm sure that all of you already guessed that I had met her, considering I've never brought another women to our little holidays before."

"Yes, we all suspected, but you just confirmed it," Penelope said kissing Spencer on the cheek.

"Figured you would," Spencer said simply. "All of you know me too well. This is Rosaleen O'Carroll, Rosa this is Penelope Garcia Rossi," Spencer introduced formally.

"It's nice to meet you," Penelope said extending her hand to the beautiful woman that had been watching the scene of her greeting Spencer with amusement.

"It's nice to meet you too, Spencer talks about you all the time," Rosa said.

"Well, we are very close," Penelope said by way of explanation. "We've known each other for well over 200 years, even back before I met Dave."

"I understand that," Rosa promised. "I've been looking forward to meeting you and the others that Spencer talks about all the time."

"I think we're going to get along splendidly," Penelope said smiling. "I hope all of us can become good friends, as close as Spencer and I are in a platonic way."

"I would like that very much," Rosa said smiling. "And you can call me Rosa."

"And I'm Penny," Penelope said in return.

"Now why don't we go to meet the others in the bar, before Rosa and I check into our room," Spencer suggested.

"Alright," Penelope agreed, "but Persephone, Rosa and I are going to have to get together sometime before we head our separate ways to get to know each other better."

"Sounds like fun," Rosa said, as Penelope started to lead Spencer and his mate in the direction of the bar where the other three were waiting.

Penelope led the pair directly to the table where the others were sitting having a few drinks before they decided what they wanted to do for the next few days.

"Well, it's about time you got here," Dave teased Spencer who simply looked at Dave with a raised eyebrow.

"You knew the time of our arrival it's not like Rosa and I are late," Spencer calmly replied. "Everyone this is Rosaleen O'Carroll, as I've already been informed by Penny you guessed that she was my mate."

"Well, yes," Aaron said, as he kissed the back of Rosa's hand. "If it had been me or Dave before we met our mates of course, it would've been very possible that we would've brought some female to a gathering like this if such a thing had occurred. But then we've always had more confidence then you have in that area, which is just a matter of different personalities and the way we were raised. Nice to meet you, Rosaleen."

"Is nice to meet you all," Rosa said smiling. "You can all me Rosa, as that usually what I do so by."  
"Rosa then," Persephone said smiling

"A beautiful name for a beautiful woman," Dave said turning on the charm, which was natural for vampires, some more, some less of course, even if he didn't really mean anything by it.

Penelope said nothing, but slapped him on the arm and Dave immediately dropped the act.

Rosa watched this, her amusement carefully hidden behind her eyes and she watched the scene. She had a feeling that she was going to like these four very much, which was a good thing considering that her mate was so close to them.

"So why don't you two order what you want to drink and we can discuss what we want to do over the next few days," Aaron suggested hiding his amusement as he watched Dave and Penelope interact. They could be very amusing occasionally, but then he knew he and Persephone were the same. Dave didn't mean anything by acting charming Aaron knew it was just natural for him to do so. All vampires were charming to various degrees anyway. Dave was totally devoted to Penelope and he would never want another just like he never would, but that didn't mean he couldn't charm the birds out of trees if the situation required it and sometimes even when it didn't.

"Well, I've been to Puerto Rico before, although not for a very long time and I know that San Juan had changed a lot since I've last been," Rosa said.

"I've been here too, but not for a long time," Dave admitted. "It's been a few hundred years at least."

"I don't think the rest of us have been or at least I haven't," commented Spencer said looking at Aaron, Penny and Persephone.

"No, none of us have," Aaron said. "I'd been overseas before of course, I just never made it to Puerto Rico before I got a job with the FBI. Now, that was a job that lasted quite a few decades."

"I had never been overseas before I met Dave," Penelope said simply.

"I hadn't traveled much at all as I was happy running my parents shop once they passed away," Persephone said. "Of course, I realize if I hadn't come to Virginia to see my sister I never would've met Aaron and that would've been awful."

"For both of us," Aaron said, giving his mate's hand a gentle squeeze to show he agreed with her statement. "I wasn't expecting to meet my mate, as I was over 400 after all and she kind of just dropped into my lap."

"That's the way it always happens unless you go see a seer," Rosa offered having listened to the conversation quietly. "I never expected to meet my mate as I am a little over 800. I'd kind of given up, you know?"

"Me too," Aaron agreed. "For all I knew my mate could've died a hundred years ago or even more by the time that Persephone almost dropped into my lap. It never even occurred to me that I could go to seer and possibly find out who my mate would be for an appropriate fee. A seer would've been able to see into the future to see when she would have been born and that at least would've given me hope."

"It never occurred to me either," Rosa said and Dave nodded in agreement.

"Or to me," Spencer added. "I knew that magic was real and that some magical's could see into the future, but it wasn't something I really thought about, which is probably why it never occurred to me. I also knew that Persephone and Penelope had a little talent in that area but they weren't technically seers, just able to see who their future mates were."

"The vampire transformation could have enhanced that particular gene, making both sisters able to see into the future," Dave mentioned, "but in the case of Penny at least it didn't."

"Dave's right, the vampire transformation could have enhanced that particular gene that both Persephone and I share since we're identical twins, but it didn't. I'm grateful it didn't, as I'd rather face life as it comes and not see the future. Some of my ancestors were seers and the talent was always more trouble than it was worth. It is a very huge responsibility to use your talent in the right way and not in a way that harms others or for yourself, as that would be selfish and the Gods or whoever controls such things don't like that. The talent is supposed to be used to help others, but many seers use it in selfish ways and they always face the consequences of their actions."

"I agree with my sister," Persephone concurred immediately. "I'm grateful that my seer gene didn't fully activate when I was transformed into a vampire."

"Why not?" Rosa asked. "It seems like a rather useful talent to have. It could show you that troubles coming for example."

"Because according to our ancestors journals you can have visions at any time in your sleep, when you're out shopping, when you're driving your car, well you get the picture," Persephone explained. "You can't stop it, although you might be able to delay it long enough to stop the car on the side of the road just for example."

"You can also cause a vision to come through a ritual and an object that belongs to another," said Penelope.

"Now that's the kind of seer I could handle being, but unfortunately, visions often come when you are least expecting them and it usually ends up being at the most inconvenient time," Persephone said.

"Also if people ever find out you're a seer a lot of them will bother you for visions of one thing or another, usually for very petty reasons. We would be constantly bothered, by people who want to know the future for stupid reasons, like the latest baseball scores so that they can make a lot of money by gambling," Penelope offered.

"Also a seer's life is often in danger if somebody finds out about their talent and they don't like the answer they receive. More than one seer has lost their lives by some criminal who don't like what they hear about their future," Persephone said. "Besides, Hecate the Goddess of magic would be very displeased if you use the talent in the wrong way, as many others with the talent discovered when they used it for their own selfish purposes."

"Also seers have to be very careful about what customers they take and even then they have been often kidnapped in the past for their talents. You don't want to know what happens to those that use their talent in the wrong way. Of course, if a seer has been kidnapped or threatened those are extenuating circumstances, so that Hecate don't punish you unless there is no choice. Still, it's not an easy talent to have, as there is a fine balance between what is right and what is wrong and you always have to be very careful that you make the right choice. Now, while being kidnapped or forced to use our talent by those that wanted to know their future wouldn't happen with Persephone and me, since we're vampires with very overprotective mates, that doesn't exactly protect other seers who don't have such protection," Penelope explained.

"Penny and I are in an unusual situation that we're perfect capable of protecting ourselves from most people with the exception of male vampires, because most of them would automatically be stronger then us, so that lessens the risk considerably," Persephone said.

"However, neither Persephone or I would want the talent to be able to see the future because we would see a lot of horror that way. Being a seer is hard on the mental processes and even if you only try to see things like finding a lost loved one, the talent doesn't work like that. No, I wouldn't want to be a seer for anything in the world because it's not a talent you can really control or turn on and off," Penelope added.

"Also as my sister said a minute ago a seer can't use her talent for selfish reasons, as it always comes back to bite them in the butt. Hecate doesn't like people to misuse her gifts."

Hecate was believed she was the mother of all magicals as well as the goddess of magic.

"Fortunately, real seers are fairly rare or at least ones that advertise are. A lot of magicals just fake it for their customer," Persephone said.

"Not every seer uses their talent to make money and for that I can't blame them, because it's fairly hard on the seer in question depending on what they see. You really need to be strong mentally and emotionally to handle some of the visions you can receive."

"I didn't know any of that," Rosa admitted. "I had no idea being a seer was so hard on that person."

"Not many people do," Penelope said smiling. "People just don't realize that being a seer isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sure, it's a lucrative field, I won't deny it, but really it's more trouble than it's worth or at least that's my opinion."

"Which is why both Penny and I are glad that neither one of us has the talent," Persephone said.

"I have better things to do then getting visions every few days, of stuff I really don't want to see. Now if I was just to get visions that concerned the people I loved or at least cared about it would be a different matter entirely, but unfortunately, that's just not the way the talent works."

"I might also mention that a lot of seers, depending on how tough they are mentally and emotionally, have been known to take their own lives," Penelope said.

"Seers also have trouble finding an understanding partner as even magicals don't always want to put up with somebody who has visions on a near constant basis or sometimes more rarely depending on how strong the talent is or what Hecate wants you to see. In that way, we are just like anybody else as everybody has their strengths and weaknesses," Persephone said.

"The ones that do find an understanding partner tend to live longer, because they get the support they need, mostly emotional, as being a seer is a great burden that is hard to bear, but possible with proper support," Penelope added. "Unfortunately that doesn't always happen."

"So did this happen to one of your ancestors them taking their own lives?" Spencer asked curious.

"Yes, several hundred years ago before Persephone and I were born," Penelope said. "If I'm remembering what I read right my ancestor only killed herself, because her husband of over 40 years left her, not wanting to deal with her visions anymore. All her children were all grown with careers of their own, so while they saw their mother fairly frequently they didn't see her often enough to prevent what happened."

"So what happened to the husband?" Rosa asked curiously.

"The husband felt incredibly guilty because he still cared about my ancestor, but there was nothing he could do, as necromancy is forbidden and it is considered a crime so great that whoever is caught performing such dark magic is immediately put to death. It is one of the few crimes in the magical community that is an automatic death sentence. In any case, the husband had to live with his guilt for the rest of his life and it was believed at the time that he died sooner then he could have simply because he let that guilt eat him up, as he knew that if he hadn't left my ancestor would likely have lived."

"Ouch!" Rosa winced.

"Now I see you understand why neither Penelope or I would want the talent and nothing can convince us otherwise," Persephone said.

"It wouldn't matter if you did have the talent to see the future," Aaron said immediately. "We are mates and mates can't abandon each other for any reason. We also can't resent or hate each other on a permanent basis. I think anybody who can't handle someone with that type of talent doesn't deserve to be with someone so special, because seers help numerous people throughout their lives whether that's in small ways or large or at those that use their talent in the right way do."

"I agree with Aaron," Dave said putting his own two cents worth, "but then I realize that we have centuries of experience to draw from while mortals do not, even if magicals live about three times as long as werewolves or humans."

"Living for centuries does not necessarily bring you wisdom," Spencer said quietly. "Many people don't ever do introspection, because they're afraid of what they'll find or simply because they believe they don't need to, because they don't see anything wrong with their behavior."

"That's a very good point," Dave said smiling at Spencer appreciatively.

"And many people don't learn from their own actions or somebody else's as they are unobservant or because they don't want to change," Rosa suggested. This was something she had seen numerous times over the last 800 years. "There is so much to learn if you just observe the people around you, which many don't do."

"Another good point," Aaron said liking this Rosa O'Carroll more and more, which was a good thing, because it would make Spencer happy if everyone got along with his mate. He had a feeling that all of them would become quite close to Rosa over time and again this was a very good thing.

"It's getting late, so I think it's about time that we retire for the evening," Dave suggested, as he looked at his watch.

"You just want to get Penny alone," Aaron smirked at his old friend.

"That might be true, but if you tell me you don't want to get Persephone alone I will know you're lying," Dave immediately shot back.

"Alright, boys, enough," Persephone said intervening before Aaron and Dave's teasing of each other could get out of hand. "I agree it's getting late and we can always meet in the morning or sometime tomorrow at any rate. We can stay here as long as we want, as we don't necessarily have to leave when December ends, so we have plenty of time to get to know Rosa."

"Besides, we have to consider that Rosa and Spencer just met, so I'm sure that they would love to be alone for awhile," Penelope added.

Spencer said nothing, but the expression on his face made it clear that yes, he would like to be alone with his mate.

"I forgot to ask how long ago did the two of you meet?" Penelope asked.

"Just four months ago more or less," Rosa answered.

"I was coming out of the scientific lecture in New Orleans at the University there and I literally ran into her as I was thinking rather deeply about what I had learned," Spencer added. "I was rather shocked when I looked into her eyes after automatically apologizing for literally running into her."

"That's the way it almost always happens," Penelope said, the other three nodding in agreement.

"It'll almost always happens totally by accident," Aaron agreed smiling. "I won't claim that some vampires don't think about going to a seer to see if their mate is in their immediate future, but a lot of vampires like Dave and I just don't think along those lines."

"I'm glad that most vampires don't as being a seer and having visions is hard enough, though it does tend to be easier if you have an object from the person that you're trying to see for, something personal, that they used or at least touched often," said Persephone.

"I agree with my sister, as seers are capable of burning out, which doesn't always happen, but it does to a lot of them. This is yet another reason I'm certainly glad I don't have a full blown talent," Penelope said.

"Now, Penny and I will bid you all good night and we'll see you in the morning," Dave said finishing his drink and rising from his chair, holding out his hand for Penelope so he could help her to her feet just like any gentleman would do.

Penelope accepted the hand and got to her feet, taking Dave's arm as soon as she was clear of her chair.

Penelope of course, didn't need the help to get to her feet but accepted it, because Dave was nothing if not a gentleman and she really did appreciate those little gestures from him as it showed that he cared.

"Shall we head to bed, bella?" Dave asked politely, but with a certain gleam in his eyes.

It was a gleam that Penelope had no trouble recognizing, considering it happened a lot. The gleam basically meant that Dave couldn't wait to get her alone, so that he could have his way with her and Penelope certainly didn't mind.

"We shall," Penelope agreed. "I'll see you all of you tomorrow."

"I think it's time we head to bed too," Aaron told Persephone who nodded trying not to appear to eager.

"We'll see you two tomorrow," Persephone told Spencer and Rosa.

"Tomorrow," Spencer said, already planning how he wanted to make love to Rosa, as there were techniques he wanted to try, things he had read about, but never had a chance to practice. They had been through a whole lot of different techniques over the last four months but there was still a lot of things they hadn't tried yet that both were eager to.

"We'll be right behind you," Rosa said rising from her chair. "I think it's time for Spence and I to retire for the night."

"You won't get any objection out of me," Spencer said, as calmly as possible trying to keep his expression normal.

Aaron shot him a look though that told him that he hadn't succeeded in not seeming to eager to get Rosa alone.

"Good night," Persephone said.

"Night," Rosa answered.

The two couples headed for the elevator to go to their rooms for a few hours before they met again.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

Several days later

"So I know this is a rather personal question, but what is Spencer like in bed?" Penelope asked Rosa.

The three women were sitting in one of the suites that the couples had rented all alone as the boys had made themselves scarce.

This was supposed to be girls night, while the boys had one for just them, which they had probably used to find a decent pool hall or some other form of entertainment that didn't involve scantily clad women, so they wouldn't be going to a strip club for example.

"If I tell you can never mention it in front of Spencer or anybody," Rosa said. "Spencer's a very private person as I'm sure you're aware."

"We promise," Penelope and Persephone said together.

"I have to say that he's probably the best lover I've ever had hands-down," Rosa said quietly. "You wouldn't think that behind that quiet exterior beats a heart of a wild beast, but there does. I know very well that part of that is because we're mates, so Spencer knows that he can trust me to not criticise him, whether that's about his personality, his technique or anything else and that releases him from his normal contained self. We've tried many things over the last few months that I know Spencer never would have tried without absolute trust between us. Some things we really enjoyed and are planning to do again and others we have we agreed we didn't like. I refuse to go into details though, so you'll just have to use your imagination I've said too much already."

"He's certainly has more confidence than he did before," Penelope mentioned, no little amazement in her tone.

"That's because he knows he's loved unconditionally, as having a permanent partner in your life that will love you no matter what can give anyone confidence. I'm sure both of you have changed a lot from when you were changed into vampires and got together with your mates," Rosa said.

Penelope and Persephone both nodded, because they had indeed changed a lot ever since being turned into vampires, though certain traits would always be a part of them.

"It's a slow process, but I know that he will change even more over the next few decades, although he'll probably always be a bit quiet, just because that's inbuilt part of his personality. I'm not sure if he always would've been that way if he'd had a better childhood or if he would be totally different, but I suspect he would be mostly the same," Rosa added.

"You've only been together for four months, but both of us have already noticed a profound change and I can guarantee you that Dave and Aaron did too, as they're even more observant than we are."

"I was told that they worked for the behavioral analyst unit for many years and that you have to be observant to be a profiler," Rosa mentioned.

"That's very true," Penelope agreed. "I worked at the BAU, but as a computer specialist, still, that doesn't mean I didn't pick up some things over the years. Dave's taught me a lot about profiling and being a vampire, well, there're certain things I can pick up now that I couldn't before just from how others act. I can pick up more easily when somebody's nervous for example, because they tend to sweat and their heart beats faster, but this doesn't necessarily mean that they're up to no good, because you can be nervous for perfectly innocent reasons. Still, there are other signs when somebody's trying to put one over on you or about to cause trouble."

"Yes, being a vampire does come with a built-in radar when somebody's trying to scam you," Rosa agreed. "Of course, it helps to be highly suspicious of people in general and realize that not everybody is a good person."

"You can't go through life totally unaware of how people can be just plain bad," Persephone put in quietly. "I know this from experience."

"Can I ask what happened?" Rosa asked gently. "You don't have to tell me his we only met a few days ago."

"I trust, you, because I trust Spencer and you're his mate," Persephone offered. "I was having dreams about my perfect match, magicals often do when they have just a slight talent to be a seer but it's not full-blown. You also have to be subconsciously ready to settle down for life. What happened though, is I had no idea who this guy was other than that he was a vampire and after nearly 3 years of not dating I had nearly given up on ever finding him. When this gorgeous guy approached me and offered to take me to dinner I accepted not believing my luck. I was very overweight back then as I really didn't watch what I ate in those days and guys like him didn't usually ask out woman like me. I didn't think of that at the time of course, I was just to thrilled that such a gorgeous guy had asked me out, you know?"

"I understand," Rosa said and she did indeed understand where Persephone was going with this.

"I can see you do," Persephone said quietly before she continued her tale. "At first everything seemed fine, but after awhile he started making comments about how I was as fat as a pig among others that I won't repeat and I caught him going through my desk more than once. It got to the point that I couldn't even go out to eat with some girlfriends, as he never wanted me to go anywhere not even into the shop that I had taken over after our parents passed away. I started going to the gym determined to lose weight, so that Steven wouldn't leave me, as I genuinely believed I was in love with him. I figured at the time that a little romance wouldn't hurt until I actually met my mate, you know? Once I had lost around 30 or 40 pounds that's when he tried to stop me from going anywhere and he tried his best to cut me off from my family. It nearly worked to, but luckily, I had Penny to warn me about people like Stephen as she was working for the BAU as you know. Finally I caught him going through my desk one too many times and I finally came to my senses remembering all Penny had told me about people like him and gave him the boot. I also changed the locks just in case he had made an extra key."

"I warned her that it was quite possible that Steven would time do physical abuse if they happened to get married," Penelope added quietly. "As it was Steven Lafayette nearly broke my sister mentally and emotionally, made her lose confidence in herself and for that alone I could've killed him and normally, I'm not one for violence."

"Meeting Aaron changed that, because he was the one I had been dreaming about for several years, the vampire and I figured I would never meet. He helped me regain my confidence in myself and helped me heal emotionally."

"So how did you meet?" Rosa asked curiously.

"Well, Dave and I met when he came back to the BAU after something like a 10 year hiatus," Penelope explained. "Dave of course, knew immediately that I was his mate and since I had been dreaming about him for about five years I knew he was the one to, so had no objection to starting a relationship. The fact that Aaron knew him and we had been working together for years only helped his case as I'd been hurt before, you know? We grew close rather quickly and before long I was pregnant with our first children, triplets. The pregnancy was hard on me, because I was still very mortal at the time, but I got through it and we got three beautiful children out of it, so it was worth it. It helped that there were also potions that helped my insides heal from all the damage that the triplets had done. Still, Dave and I decided no more children until after I was a vampire. I was willing, but Dave didn't want to take the risk and I acceded to his wishes, because he was genuinely worried for me. He had seen how much trouble carrying triplets was on me, so wanted to wait until I was a vampire like he was. That he was gone so much for work and he wasn't there to watch over me didn't help the situation. At the time I loved him even more for his genuine concern for my well being then I already did."

"I would be worried to if I happened to be male and my mate was pregnant and mortal," Rosa agreed. "Especially if I wasn't there a lot of the time because of the job I had. It's a trait of all male vampires who have met their mates. If my mate happened to be mortal when they get pregnant I would constantly worry about them as so many things can go wrong in even a normal pregnancy, much less a vampire one. Mates are overprotective of each other anyway, but that's doubly true when the female is pregnant, even if they're a vampire when they are."

"Boy do we know it," Persephone snorted, indicating herself and Penelope. "Still, it's kind of nice to be taken care of every once in awhile and Aaron does do his best to not overdo his protective act. I have to admit though that he was far worse when I was mortal and pregnant just a few weeks after Penelope actually."

"So you met Aaron through your sister then," Rosa guessed.

"Yes, I did, because as I said I had been having dreams, but unfortunately, we didn't exactly exchange names, because it was like we had known each other for months," Persephone said.

"She described the dreams she'd been having to me and I was thinking at the time there was no way her future husband could be who I was thinking about because it would be a rather weird coincidence, you know?" Penelope said. "Still, I agreed to introduce them and if I turned out to be wrong than she was just my sister who was visiting me and looking to start a second shop in the area, the other being in the magical quarter of Los Angeles where we grew up."

"I, of course, knew immediately that Dave's friend Aaron Hotchner was the one when we were finally introduced and Aaron also knew instantly. Because of my dreams, even though my self-confidence had taken a huge hit due to Steven, we mated within hours of meeting. It helped of course, that my sister knew and trusted him and I trusted her opinion."

"So you got pregnant immediately afterwards," Rosa guessed and Persephone nodded in confirmation.

"Likely the very first time we made love as I was still quite young when we met not quite 31," Persephone confirmed, smiling as she remembered. "Of course, it could've happened anytime that weekend as Aaron had it off and we made love a lot as I'm sure you can guess."

"Of course, I can," Rosa smiled laughing a little. "You were mates, so of course, Aaron would want to make love to you constantly until he absolutely had to leave. Mates make love a lot for at least the first few decades, when that need to constantly be together finally dies down, so you can do things separately without missing your mate too much."

"Oh, we still make love a lot, but we do, do other things," Penelope said smiling. "We go dancing fairly often for example, as it is an activity that both of us enjoy. One advantage of being a vampire is we can dance the night away and not worry about sore feet, especially me, since I usually wear high heels."

"Yes, I know when it does come in handy occasionally," Rosa giggled. "I can't wait to go dancing with Spencer."

"If you can actually get Spencer into a club and get him to dance I'm going to have to find someway to congratulate you," Penelope said. "Dancing isn't really his thing. Back when we all worked for the BAU before he was a vampire or even before I was, you couldn't get him out on the dance floor for any reason. Spencer might look like a pushover, but he can be incredibly stubborn, so you have your work cut out for you I'm afraid."

"That's back when he was human and clumsy though," Rosa pointed out. "He no longer clumsy like he used to be, because vampires just aren't a clumsy species. Once I get them out on the dance floor that first time and he realizes that he's not stepping on my feet, it will likely be easier to get him out there a second time. It won't take him long to realize that he's actually a decent dancer, now that he's not clumsy because he's a vampire."

"Well, let me know if you succeed," Penelope said and Rosa nodded.

"I will," Rosa promised smiling. "I plan on getting him to do a lot of things that he's never done before because of fear or a feeling of inadequacy. Of course, I won't phrase it that way as that will likely make him dig in his heels and refuse to cooperate. I suspect that most of the things he won't do is because he fears he won't be any good at them, as his father didn't exactly give his son any self-confidence to try new things."

"Now that's the understatement of the century, probably the millennium," Penelope snorted her opinion of William Reid loud and clear.

"I'm almost sorry he's dead, because I'd like to rip him into teeny tiny pieces," Rosa admitted candidly."

"Believe me, that Dave and Aaron feel the same answer and so do I for that matter, even though I'm not usually one for violence," Penelope said.

"I know that violence is sometimes necessary, as I've watched as Aaron killed a man in cold blood after he tried to have his way with me. I didn't stop him, because I knew I wouldn't succeed, as both of us had watched as he was very persistent in trying to get me alone with him, even though he knew that I was married and off the market. I know he didn't realize that both of us were vampires and he never would've gotten his way, but he sealed his own fate when he didn't leave me alone after I had told him I wasn't interested at least 30 times by then. He still wouldn't leave me alone, even when Aaron put his arm possessively around my waist to show that I was his. You know that Aaron can be very menacing when he wants to be and has this death glare that would certainly terrify me if it was ever sent in my direction. That guy was extremely stupid to keep being so persistent, you could even say he was obsessed with me," Persephone smiled, as she remembered.

"Aaron suspected that he would turn into a rapist or was possibly already one and then we'd have to deal with it anyway and since I believed he was right, it was just easier at the time to deal with the situation then have to worry about it later, even if we can't be hurt by any human weapon or be kidnapped or raped against our will. I know now that there is true evil in the world and I suspect that this man would've turned into some kind of major criminal if given enough time, as all he needed was the right set of circumstances to change him into one. He certainly displayed an uncaring attitude when I told him I was taken. He actually believed that he could take Aaron on and win and the chances of that were 0, which would be true, even if Aaron was completely mortal. This man actually thought that he could feed me a false compliments and that would get me to abandon Aaron and drop him like a hot potato."

"Well, this guy doesn't sound too intelligent," Rosa amused smiling.

"Or he could just have been incredibly arrogant, so sure of his own handsomeness and charisma that it made him believe that he could have any female he wanted," Persephone said. "I suspect that he wasn't used to being rebuffed."

"So was he handsome?" Penelope asked smiling as she had never heard this story.

"I suppose," Persephone said. "Compared to Aaron he was rather plain."

"Well, you can't really compare a human with a vampire, since we're perfect, no imperfections whatsoever," Penelope reminded her sister who nodded.

"Well, if you compare him to just other mortals, then yes, he was very handsome, though of course, he didn't hold a candle to Aaron or any other vampire for that matter, not even the homeliest ones," Persephone decided.

"Did you ever think that it was your looks that attracted to him in the first place?" Rosa suggested. "Unfortunately, vampires attract the kind of attention on a regular basis. Believe me, I've had people over the years try to persistently to get my attention, even when I tell them I'm not interested. Of course, most of them are just persistent, arrogant enough to believe that they'll be able to get me into their bed, no matter how many times I turn them down and there's no other sinister motives other than to have sex with someone that looks like I do."

"Yeah, that's happened to, but this guy there was just something wrong about him, you know," Persephone said. "I truly believe that Aaron was right and he was at least a rapist in the making if he was not already one."

"You can often sense if there is something seriously wrong with someone," Penelope agreed. "Even when I was human I often avoided certain people, because to me they seemed to radiate a dangerous air, even if all they were doing was standing in line at a coffee shop. Now, that I'm a vampire my senses are a thousand times sharper, so it's much easier to avoid those kind of people."

"So shall we watch a movie?" Persephone suggested.

"Might as well," Rosa said. "This is a first class hotel, so they ought to have a good selection available."

"And luckily, both Persephone and I both speak Spanish, though at least some of the selections should be in English, since it's the other main language," Penelope said.

"I speak Spanish too, so we should have no problem with watching a movie in that language," Rosa concurred.

"Let's choose a movie then," Penelope said.

All three women looked at the selection of movies that were available once Persephone had turned on the TV and picked a movie that was recent and none of them had had a chance to see. It was a chick flick that the three women knew that their men wouldn't be interested in. Rosa started the movie, as she had the remote and all the women sat back and made themselves comfortable preparing themselves to enjoy the show.

It wasn't long before all three got into the film that was playing and laughed in all the right places. All three were thoroughly enjoying the time they were spending together and hoped to repeat it as often as possible over the next few centuries.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"That was a good movie," Persephone said. "I can't get Aaron to watch what he calls a chick flick, not even in the privacy of our home and it's no fun to watch by yourself."

"No, it's not," Rosa agreed. "I think the three of us need to get together more often to just watch movies and talk at least a couple of times a year. I mean surely spending a day or two with each other a few times a year isn't too much to ask."

"You know that's a good idea and it something that Persephone and I should've instituted a long time ago," Penelope said. "As much as I love Aaron having some girl time is essential."

"We'll have to wait until Rosa can be away from Spencer for more than a few hours at a time, but in two or three decades that will be possible, even if we just go to a spa somewhere for a week," Persephone said.

"Those decades will pass fast, I ought to know," Penelope said, "because the last 200 years has certainly seemed to pass like the wind. Of course, until 140 or 50 years ago Dave and I were so wrapped up in each other that it was difficult to separate for more than a few minutes for any reason. It was really hard on booth of us when he was gone for work, but we managed."

"The same was true for Aaron and I," Persephone agreed.

"Still, having a girls weekend every once in awhile will be good for us," Rosa said agreeing with the twins ideas.

It was easy to forget that Penelope and Persephone were identical twin, even if only because Persephone had longer hair then Penny had before she was changed into a vampire. The longer hair made her look somewhat different from her twin sister and that they styled it differently also helped to differentiate between the two. Still, if you were looking for it or were observant you could still tell that they were identical. Of course, they weren't together at the same place too often, though that would change in the near future if to three women had any say in the matter.

"It also won't do the boys any harm to be on their own for a few days," Persephone said smiling. "It will help them bond and become even closer then they are now."

"I'm sure that Aaron, Dave and Spencer will see that and being away from us for a few days is the right thing to do. They might not like it too much it first, but I know we'll get all way in the end," Rosa said.

"Dave, at least will see the sense of it, Aaron to I believe," Penelope said. "They have enough experience with women to know that a girl time is essential every now and then."

"Especially since the three of us actually have girlfriends that we're close to, even if that's each other," Persephone said. "I think our situation is rather unique, particularly Penelope and I."

"What do you mean?" Rosa asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I think all she meant was that it's rather unusual to have two sisters, identical twins at that, changed into vampires who happen to have mates that were good friends before they ever met us," Penelope explained her sister's reasoning knowing how Persephone thought.

"Oh, yes, I see what you mean," Rosa agreed once it had been explained to her.

"Also many vampires don't have any close friends if they do they're normally mortal and mortals die. Now, this is not always true course, as Aaron, Spencer and Dave not to mention myself and Persephone should prove. I got to know the three boys through my work at the BAU and we became good friends over years. Now, while Aaron and Dave were already vampires Spencer and I were not. You add my sister to the mix and you have a rather unique situation that other vampires would envy if they only knew of our closeness," Penelope said.

"Also, Penelope and I are not saying that such a situation doesn't exist elsewhere. We've met other vampires that have made very good friends with others of their kind, though it's usually only one person, not several and they spend a lot of time together. We're just saying that a lot of vampires don't seem to want to take the chance to make more effort to be more than casual acquaintances or friends, people you see occasionally, but not often."

"Of course, we know it also has to do with compatibility and also effect to become close to someone, even if you do click," Penelope added.

"An effort that many vampires don't want to do, mostly to pure laziness, though that's not always the case," Persephone continued.

"Mortals are the same way, so it's not just a foible of the vampire species, although I would think they would learn better considering our species is basically, immortal," Rosa commented.

"If you were the same way as a human that often transfers over into your immortal life," Penelope said and Rosa nodded in agreement.

"While that's true how do you explain those that were born vampires and how lazy they are to put in the effect to become good friends with someone? I can understand not being willing to put in the effort if that person is mortal, but not for another vampire."

"Well, as I said earlier part of that's compatibility," Penelope said.

"And part of it is some people prefer their own company," Persephone added. "Of course, for vampires this can be rather detrimental to their mental health, because they don't live just a few decades after all."

"Whether a lot of vampires admit it or not they need companionship at least sometimes, just like humans or werewolves or magical do," Penelope said.

"Still, being alone is their own choice, though personally not a choice I would make for myself," Rosa commented.

"Definitely not, especially since most vampires never find their mates, so they don't even have that. Penelope and I are aware that we're very lucky in that regard and to have Spencer also with us for eternity is a bonus," Persephone said. "I know I didn't meet him until after I met Dave and Aaron, but now we're just as close as he is too everybody else."

"Which is an accomplishment," Penelope said. "It took a lot of effort on Persephone's part and Spencer's to for that matter."

"You know I'm really going to have to thank Dave for saving Spencer's life at some point," Rosa mused. "I never would've met him, because he would've died, more than a century ago otherwise."

"Dave will understand," Penelope promised Rosa. "Of course, I can tell you that he'll say that no thanks are necessary, because Spencer was and is like a nephew to him, perhaps even a son. Also at the time as well as now Spencer and I were very close so Dave did it as much for me as for himself or Spencer, because he knew I would be devastated if he were to die, especially since it wouldn't have been due to natural causes. I admit though, that I miss Morgan the most, as we were even closer then Spencer and I were at the time."

Penelope sighed seeming melancholy, entrenched in thoughts of the past.

"Morgan had a huge crush on Penny," Persephone explained to Rosa.

"Yes, he did and it got rather annoying to tell you the truth. He did do his best to keep it under wraps once I had met Dave, but occasionally I would catch him looking at me rather wistfully when he thought I wasn't paying attention," Penelope said. "Still, he was a good friend, someone I could flirt playfully with when he called for information for whatever case they were working on."

"And Dave didn't mind?" Rosa asked.

"No, because he knew where my heart belonged and that was with him. It helped that I told him of the dreams I had been having, which were just like the ones that Persephone had just with Dave as the central star. I was in love with him for five years before we even met, so Morgan had absolutely no chance of ever getting what he wanted. Still, we remained good friends until the day he finally passed away. As for Dave he was very understanding about how Morgan and I acted around each other. He didn't want me to lose my friendship with him, so long as Morgan didn't take it to far."

"Did Morgan ever marry or did he continue to believe that he was in love with you?" Rosa asked.

"No, he never did, which disappointed his mother Fran who wanted to see him settle down, have family, like his two sisters did. He was pretty good at concealing the love he felt for me, but still, I caught glimpses of it every once in awhile. For one thing he was a ladies man long before he developed his crush on me and he continued to be one once I got together with Dave, though I'm pretty sure that none of those woman he slept with meant a thing to him. I really felt sorry for him actually, though I never told him so, because his love for me was always going to be unrequited."

"While that's sad, it was also his choice," Rosa said and Penelope nodded in agreement.

"I know, believe me, I do," Penelope replied looking rather melancholy.

"So did you ever offer to turn him into a vampire?" Rosa asked.

"No, because he never would have accepted," Penelope explained shaking her head. "While he didn't have anything against working with vampires, he never wanted to become one. He was rather upset that I had agreed willingly to be changed, but I believe that is more because he had a crush on me, then because he was against it. Still, I was very well aware that the issue would be forced if I didn't agree anyway, since I was a vampire's mate, but as I was already more than halfway in love with Dave I would have gone through any amount of pain to be with him through eternity."

"Both Penny and I appreciated the fact, at the time, that both Dave and Aaron were patient enough to get our agreement instead of just kidnapping us, like happens sometimes. It also helped that both of us had been dreaming of our men for years," Persephone said.

"Definitely, as for me at least it would have taken Dave much more effort to gain my trust without those dreams, as I had been hurt in the past by men," Penelope explained. "Mostly because I wasn't as traditionally beautiful as some women being bigger boned for one thing."

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it's clear that Dave adores you," Rosa told her new friend. "And that Aaron adores you," Rosa added looking a Persephone.

"Yes, they do," Persephone giggled, Penelope doing the same.

"We have our men wrapped around our little fingers and they rush to obey our every command, wish or whim," Penelope added her expression perfectly serious before she ruined it by breaking into laughter, the other two joining her.

"So another movie?" Rosa suggested after a few minutes of silence.

"Or we can play cards or another game," Persephone suggested.

The three discussed it for a minute and decided on poker. Penelope went to get the cards out of the bedroom and then came back. The three of them played with Persephone shuffling the deck expertly before dealing.

"So are you hoping to get pregnant soon?" Penelope asked Rosa as they played.

Rosa looked rather startled at the question, but knew she probably should have expected it.

"Yes, I am, but it hasn't happened yet, because believe me, I would know within a couple of days," Rosa answered. "I'm not very surprised though, as vampires aren't exactly the most fertile species unless they're having sex with mortals with no protection."

"Yeah, the same applies to Persephone and I," Penelope agreed.

"Though for the two of us it's a few days longer before we know, because we are bigger in the chest and hips, so we don't show as quickly," Persephone added.

"So same question are you hoping to get pregnant sometime over our vacation?" Rosa asked.

"Yeah, we are, or at least I am," Persephone said. "It's been quite a while since Aaron and I have had a child and we were having them every few years at one point."

"Dave and I are to," Penelope admitted. "It's been about 20 years since we last had a child, which is rather unusual for us, because we usually get me pregnant every three to five years."

"That's awfully close for vampire children," Rosa said blinking in astonishment, then remembered what Spencer had told her. She had been rather distracted at the time.

"You have to remember that Dave and I as well as Persephone and Aaron are mates and that has a lot to do with it. Also, we believe that because we were witches before we were vampires that have something to do with it as well. All of us believe it has something to do with our magic that's allowing us to get pregnant so frequently or at last that's our theory. That neither Persephone or I have had children in decades is rather unusual for both of us, though we've enjoyed the break," Penelope said.

"Definitely," Persephone said enthusiastically. "It's been even longer for Aaron and I, since we've had any children."

"So you believe that your magic, has something to do with both you having children so often," Rosa summarized, just to keep the conversation flowing smoothly not letting on that she already knew all this, "and you also believe that the fact that you're mates has something to do with it is well."

"Yes," both Penelope and Persephone answered at the same time.

"Well, I had heard that being mates helps when it comes to having children if only because mates make love so frequently with the same person instead of with different partners since most relationships between vampires don't last," Rosa admitted. "As for magic making it easier for a vampire to get pregnant that I've never heard of and I'm 800 years old."

And she hadn't until Spencer had told her, so she wasn't really lying.

"It's apparently not well-known," Persephone said shrugging.

"Or it's possible we could be mistaken as it's just a theory after all," Penelope added.

"I suppose it's possible," Rosa considered. "I've seen a lot of strange things in my life and this isn't really any stranger."

"No, it's not. Really though, not many magicals are turned into vampires or if the are they aren't mated, which is not to say that they never get pregnant by some random person," said Persephone.

"I can even practice magic now and I didn't practice it much, because it always messed up the electronics, though that only was true a few hundred years ago. I might be a witch, but I was always heavily into electronics and that's one of the reasons that I started working for the BAU in the first place. I had to choose at that time whether to pursue my magic or to pursue my passion. You can easily guess which one I chose. Now though, I have discovered that so long as the electronics are turned off or I don't use too many spells around them that they do okay. Still, that doesn't mean that Dave and I haven't had to replace more than one computer or some other piece of sensitive electronics over the years, but luckily, I'm a fanatic about backing things up when it comes to software."

"Computers at least need to be replaced every few years anyway," Rosa said and Penelope nodded.

"That's true, but sometimes I've blown a computer up by forgetting to turn it off before I perform any heavy magic, even when it's almost brand new. I try to remember not to do magic in the same room as the computer or any other sensitive electronic equipment. Dave and I actually have started to have all the electronic equipment in one room, so it's easy to remember not to do magic in there," Penelope said. "I've gotten better at remembering not to do any heavy magic around the most sensitive equipment. Actually, I don't usually use much magic anyway even today, as I got so used to not using it when I worked for the BAU in case I blew their computer system that now, it's just a habit I haven't managed to break all the way. I really don't use it much, even now just occasionally, you know? I was just trying to say that I use it more nowadays then I did before I was turned into a vampire. I have had to use it a couple of times to protect myself from some persistent male, mostly because I just wanted to teach them a lesson, but not do them any permanent harm."

"I'm surprised Dave didn't at least growl at them," Persephone said.

"Oh, he wasn't with me and I never told him as I knew he would blow his top if he knew," Penelope admitted. "I dealt with the situation and that was the end of it as far as I was concerned. Those particular men never bothered me again I guarantee you. They were just arrogant enough to believe that I would go straight to bed with them or out with them on a date, because they believed themselves irresistible. They were just delusional and so full of themselves they didn't handle rejection well, but not evil."

"Well, I'm glad that you have magic the fall back on," Persephone said. "I know you could've handled it with being a vampire, but since those men were very likely mortal, but this way you didn't do them any permanent damage or kill them."

"I'm surprised that they didn't recognize the crests you always wear," Rosa mentioned. "Even most mortals recognize the Rossi and Hotchner crest."

"I didn't even think about displaying them at that time as I was just wearing the rings," Penelope admitted. "It is something I'm going to have to remember to do in the future and see if that gets a man to back off. I guess I've just been wearing them for so long that they're practically invisible."

"Whenever you're out on your own you need to not only wear the ring, but the bracelet and necklace to," Persephone advised her sister. "I know Dave has given you enough jewelry with his crest to match any outfit you could possibly wear, as Aaron has done the same for me and Dave is no different in that regard. Believe me, while none of it is costume jewelry, but the real thing, not that many people would recognize that. Also you need to wear the necklace above your clothes and not under it so it's visible. I doubt very much that those men would've bothered you if they had seen that necklace."

"Probably not," Penelope admitted sheepishly, "though it's possible that they wouldn't have recognized the crests I was wearing or if they did that they still, would've gone ahead with bothering me, as a lot of people don't realize how dangerous vampires can be, particularly when something they consider there's is being bothered or threatened."

"Well, there has to be some idiots in the world," Rosa shrugged. "Still wearing the crest whenever you're out alone in particular will protect you from a lot of people, that would otherwise try to take advantage of you."

"Yeah, I know you're right," Penelope admitted. "I had already promised myself to remember that in the future and I think I've been doing a decent job of it."

"Make sure you do," Persephone told the twin in a rather severe tone. "Those men you were telling us about might not have meant any harm, but not everybody is annoying rather than dangerous. I know this from personal experience as you are well aware."

"Especially if you don't really want to kill anyone unless you absolutely need to," Rosa added. "Now, I for one prefer to be civilized, but I also have no problem killing if necessary or at least damaging the person to the point that they'll leave me alone."

"Well, you were born a vampire like Dave and Aaron, so I can understand that point of view," Penelope admitted.

"But it's not one you share," Rosa said shrewdly. "After all, you did say earlier that you're not one for violence."

"Perhaps, if we had been born vampires then we wouldn't have any problem with killing when necessary," offered Persephone.

"But we weren't and we were born in a time of peace. Of course, I'd have no problem killing if it was to protect Dave or anybody else I cared about, but I would feel incredibly guilty afterwards, even if my inner vampire knew it was the right thing to do, because I can't lose him for any reason. Still, Dave's perfectly capable of looking after himself, me and any children we have, so I haven't had to do anything against my conscious. I have had to watch Dave deal with several people over the centuries and while I feel a little guilty for their deaths at least I wasn't involved, you know? Well, other than as an observer, as I couldn't force myself to leave Dave to deal with it completely on his own, even if he was willing," Penelope explained.

"I understand," Rosa said and she did as both Persephone and Penelope were really gentle souls at heart, but would still defend their family with everything they had if necessary.

The talk changed to more pleasant subjects, as the three women got to know each other much better over the course of a day and a night.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

"So have a good time with the other ladies?" Dave asked his mate as soon as they were together again.

"Absolutely, it was a very relaxing time," Penelope said. "We agreed to do a ladies night out more often. It'll probably end up being more like a ladies weekend when we go to a spa or something for a few days. I believe that is something that Persephone and I should've instituted decades ago at the very least. With the faster shuttles now that can cross the continent in less then an hour it should be possible for us to get together at least once every few months. Rosa will be joining us, although not for the first few decades probably, since the bond between her and Spencer is still so new."

"So are you going to leave me by myself?" Dave mock pouted.

"I'm sure that you, Aaron and Spencer can entertain yourselves for a few days without us ladies around," Penelope giggled knowing she was being gently teased. "You can get together with the other two and do something to entertain yourselves while us ladies are busy. I know it wouldn't do any good to use some of the spa services, but we can use some of them. We can't get a pedicure, because we can't get our nails trimmed and we can't get haircut, since it won't grow back if we do. Still, we can get it styled and also use some for the other spa services like just relaxing in a hot tub or having a mud bath. Yes, I'm a aware the mud bath won't do anything for our skin considering that we are vampires, but still it's a nice way to relax. They even have vampires as a masseuse at some spas, because they do get vampire customers occasionally, mostly women."

"Well, I can't deny you girl time," Dave said finally smiling.

"If you tried you and I would be having a discussion and you wouldn't like what I had to say I promise you," Penelope said mostly in jest knowing that Dave would never do such a thing. "We probably won't always do the spa thing maybe we can spend a weekend in someplace like Venice or Spain, the idea is just to spend time with each other, give us a chance to get away from responsibilities for a time."

"A way to recharge," Dave suggested smiling

"I hadn't thought of it like that, but yes, that's a good analogy," Penelope said. "It's a good way to relax for a few days so I don't start snapping at you or the kids, although you'll really good about getting rid of my tension."

"Still, I understand that you need time away and we've been mated long enough now that the constant need to be together has died down. It will do our bond no harm for you to spend a few days with your sister and Rosa, once she can join you that is. That doesn't mean I won't miss you while you're gone, just not as intensely as I would if our bond was still new."

"It will be at least 10 years before Rosa can join us, I know, well, not unless Spencer comes along to and stays relatively nearby," Penelope said. "Still, I think Persephone and I will start this tradition and Rosa can join us when she can, though I'm not sure Spencer will understand the need for girl time as he doesn't know much about women."

"He probably does, but if he doesn't, I'm sure Rosa can explain the concept to him," Dave said smiling, as he imagined that conversation.

"I'm sure she can, as she is certainly very intelligent, but I know vampires are," said Penelope. "One thing she doesn't lack, like some vampires do is common sense, as she has it to spare."

"Lack of common sense is not something that only affects vampires," Dave said.

"I know," Penelope agreed. "I knew some people back when I was mortal, before I met you that didn't have enough common sense to fill a thimble. I knew some extremely silly witches when I was growing up, though it's possible they outgrew that silliness, since some girls of a certain age tend to be rather scatterbrained thanks to hormones."

"So do I get to know what you did doing this sacred girls night?" Dave asked.

"Oh, you know, the usual watched movies, those chick flicks that none of you men like, although we left the food out of the equation, played a few games and simply talked, though what we talked about I'm not going to tell you."

"I can guess," Dave said snorting in amusement.

"I'm sure that you can," Penelope giggled. "I will tell you that all three of us are hoping to be pregnant before our holiday ends and that, especially includes Rosa."

"Now that doesn't surprise me at all, especially for Rosa," Dave said. "Vampires have a driving need to reproduce with their mates, so I'm not surprised that Rosa wants to have a baby by Spencer as soon as possible. I won't be surprised if she is pregnant by the end of the holiday, although it took us three years after you were changed to have our twins and five years after that to have three more. Still, every vampire is different you know, so it's quite possible that she'll manage to get pregnant before the holiday ends."

"What you're not saying is it could be a few years," Penelope said.

"It could," Dave shrugged. "Still, three to five years for us anyway isn't too bad really, as for most other vampires unless they get pregnant by a human it's usually much longer."

"That's usually only because they have sex with different vampires not the same one though," said Penelope.

"That's true," Dave agreed. "I'm certainly hoping that you are pregnant by the end of the holiday since we haven't had a child in 20 years, but if you're not, then you're not. There's no point in stressing about it as you pointed out not too long ago, as that could prevent you from conceiving."

"Well, you actually listened to me," Penelope teased him. "Consider me shocked."

"I always listen to you, bella," Dave said, pretending to be offended. "We are equals in almost every way, except the fact that I'm stronger than you are and also much more aggressive when the situation requires it."

"That's very true," Penelope said. "I don't really like to hurt anyone, although if they come after my friends and family I'm willing to kill if necessary."

"But you would feel very guilty about it, while I wouldn't so long as the cause was justified," said Dave. "I was born a vampire though, in a time when violence was part of everyday life and only the strong survived or at least that was true for mortals. So since we're back together again want to head up to our room perhaps try to get you pregnant? Or would you rather see some of the sites?"

"We can see the sites later," Penelope decided. "We've just been reunited and I'm sure that Spencer and Rosa and Aaron and Persephone are already very busy."

"If that's your way of saying that they're fucking like rabbits, then I would be astonished if they weren't considering that they've been separated for 24 hours. In Rosa's and Spencer's case, since they've only been together a few months that's definitely what they're doing."

"Well, come on, handsome, let's head up to our suite, so you can make love to me," Penelope suggested in a seductive tone that immediately got Dave's attention.

"Your wish is my command, gorgeous," Dave said with a playful leer, as he followed his mate to the elevator to head up to the suite they had rented for the duration of their stay.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"I missed you," Spencer told Rosa, as soon as they were alone in their suite.

"I missed you too," Rosa promised her mate seductively causing Spencer to obviously gulp.

"Did you have fun with Penny and Persephone?" Spencer asked.

"Yes, I did, but that doesn't mean that I didn't miss you," Rosa said. "Part of that is our bond is still really new, not even a year old at this point. I'm sure you know it will take a few years to die down, at least a decade maybe more."

"Yes, I am aware," Spencer agreed. "I told you that Aaron and Dave made sure I knew everything I needed to. Believe me, they didn't leave anything out and were very thorough."

"Good saves me from having to explain," Rosa said. "Now, I believe we can finish this discussion later as I really missed you."

Spencer got the hint and immediately picked up his mate easily and headed into the bedroom of their suite.

"Well, it's nice to know you can take a hint," Rosa giggled feeling like a teenage girl in the midst of her first crush.

"Your hint was very obvious and only an idiot wouldn't have understood what you meant and I've never been called an idiot or unobservant," Spencer answered with a small grin.

Spencer ripped Rosa's clothes off before placing her on the king sized bed where he was immediately on top of her after having removed his own clothing.

Without another word the two of them started to make love to each other, each of them leaving little love bites along the skin, ones that would never fade completely and Rosa for her part withered underneath him making sounds of intense pleasure, as Spencer had his way with her body, with her participating enthusiastically.

"That was something else," Spencer said hours later, as he simply lay on his back with Rosa curled up against him.

"I'll say," Rosa giggled, feeling so happy that it was nearly unrealistic.

"Another round?" Spencer asked hopefully. He had never imagined such words leaving his mouth, but he had turned into something of a sex fiend since he had met his mate.

"Sure," Rosa agreed. "But first there is something we need to discuss."

"And what's that?" Spencer asked curiously.

"Just that Penelope, Persephone and I have decided that we're going to have one of these girl time outs at least a few times a year. I know that Penny and Persephone haven't been doing that but they plan on instituting it now that the bond with their mates are no longer so new and intense. Of course, I won't be able to join them unless you come to then just do your own thing for a few hours, but once we've been together for a decade, perhaps two we'll be able to be parted for a few days, even a week with no problem."

"A few days? A week?" Spencer asked curiously.

"Oh, we don't plan on doing the same thing every time we meet," Rosa explained. "We might decide to go to Venice for a few days, just us girls. We could decide to go to a spa and although I know we can't use all their services we can use some of them. It just time away from our ordinary lives and gives us girls time to bond, particularly me with Penelope and Persephone since I'm the new one."

"That won't always be true," Spencer said.

"I know, but it also gives us time to catch up with each other, as there are some thing's you just don't talk about over email or on the phone," Rosa explained.

"So why are you telling me about this now considering that you won't be able to join Persephone and Penelope for at least a decade for this girl time?" Spencer asked.

"Because I want you to get used to the concept before it actually occurs," Rosa said. "I love you unconditionally, but that doesn't mean I don't need time with other women who have similar interest to my own. Since Penelope and Persephone are part of your family it's vital that I get to know them. I'm sure you know that it's pretty rare for vampires to have close friends for one reason or another. They might have many other vampires they know, but their usually only causal friends. Not always of course, just a lot of times."

"Mortals die and vampires don't want to try with other's of their for fear of being betrayed," said Spencer suddenly understanding.

"Exactly," Rosa said. "Besides, everybody needs friends that they can depend on. That you're already close to both of them, just means I want to be close to them as well. Who knows I might make other friends with female vampires at some point. I do have a few, which I might just consider contacting and inviting them to girl time, though I will ask Persephone and Penelope first."

"I'm sure that they wouldn't object to making friends with other female vampires, even if it will take awhile for them to be really close. For one thing your friends will have to prove themselves trustworthy for neither one of them trusts lightly and considering their experiences before they were immortal I can't blame them," Spencer said.

"Yeah, Persephone told me all about Steven Lafayette," Rosa said.

"That means she trusts you and she doesn't usually tell people," Spencer said.

"She said she trusted me, because I was your mate," Rosa explained.

"I see and it does make sense," Spencer said. "She won't so easily trust these other female friends of yours just so you know and neither will Penny. They both have to many negative experiences when it comes to people."

"They're trustworthy, but I do understand that Persephone and Penny need to figure that out for themselves," Rosa said. "I've been very lucky that I actually do have a few friends that are fairly close to me, but still, I can always use a few more."

"Steven Lafayette really hurt Persephone, emotionally and mentally at least. It nearly shattered her self-confidence from what I was told," Spencer said.

"She admitted as much and also said that Aaron helped her to regain her confidence in herself," Rosa said. "Aaron put in the time in effort to help her with that and I know he did so at least partly, because they are mates and he didn't want her to be depending on him for everything."

"Yes, Aaron is that way and I know he would have wanted Persephone to be able to get out and do things by herself without him going with her. He wouldn't want her to be wary of everyone she encountered, thinking they were out to get her, particularly men or to be so withdrawn that it would be impossible to get her out of her shell. A lot a people tend to withdraw into themselves if they get hurt majorly in someway and it takes a lot of effort to get that person out of their shell. I'm not saying a little suspicion isn't a good thing, since their are many people who would try to take advantage of someone like her, but there is such a thing as going overboard," Spencer said.

"A little wariness is a good thing, as it helps protect you from those that would do you harm, not physically in our case because we are vampires, but emotionally and mentally definitely," Rosa said.

"I don't think that Penny or Persephone need to worry about anybody hurting them as they have two very overprotective mates to look out for their well-being, not to mention myself," Spencer smirked. "Besides, they are perfectly capable of protecting themselves. It's not like they can be hurt physically although I know they can mentally and emotionally, but still, Penny at least is much stronger in that way with Dave in her life so all those taunts she endured as a child and as an adult don't affect her like they did before she and Dave met."

"I can guess what kind of taunts you're talking about very easily," Rosa said. "I'm not naïve and I know very well that children in particular can be very cruel to someone they consider not up to their standards. They're either too intelligent, not pretty enough or there some other reason for the kids to take a dislike to. Even adults that should know better often bully or say cruel things to those that they see as weak or different."

"Being seen as too intelligent was my problem," Spencer sighed. "I've gotten past all that a very long time ago now, but that doesn't mean I wish my childhood hadn't been easier."

"Then you wouldn't be the man you are today if it had been," Rosa said soothingly. "You might not have decided to join the FBI to help people and that would mean that you never met, Morgan, Aaron or Dave or any of the others. Those people helped shape you into who you are today and Aaron, Dave and Penelope are still a big influence on your life, Persephone too of course."

"But she wasn't part of the original BAU team," Spencer said, immediately understanding what Rosa was saying.

"Exactly, but she is a big influence on your life now and has been for quite sometime," Rosa said, grateful that Spencer caught onto most concepts immediately. "Now about that second round."

Spencer understood immediately that the discussion was over for the moment and was more than happy to comply with Rosa's unvoiced request.

There was no more talking for quite sometime and by the time they came up for air it was 24 hours later.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"Pick out anything you want," Dave told Penny as the two of them explored a well-known jewelry chain. Unfortunately, Tiffany's had gone out of business over 50 years ago for lack of heirs. The death of the owner's only son had been on the news for sometime as it was such a tragedy. Still, there were other jewelry shops that sold many pretty things, that were just as good quality.

"Now why did I know you were going to say that?" Penelope asked smiling.

"Because you know me so well?" Dave shot back smiling.

"I don't really need anything considering how you keep practically shower me with jewelry," Penelope told him, even as she looked at all the gorgeous bracelet, rings necklaces and even a few jeweled collars. Penelope then noticed Spencer and Rosa in another section of the store and knew that the two of them were certainly close enough to overhear their conversation.

Ah! Penelope realized that Dave was telling her to pick out anything she wanted, so that hopefully, Spencer would pick up on the hint, as he wasn't exactly the most romantic soul, though that would likely change sometime in the next 50 years, as the bond matured.

When Spencer did exactly that Penelope smiled at Dave winking to let him know that she had caught on to his scheme and Dave simply winked back, not surprised that she had caught onto what he was doing.

When they finally exited the jewelry store over a half an hour late Dave had bought Penelope several beautiful and exquisite pieces of jewelry, but the same could be said for Spencer and Rosa and Aaron and Persephone.

"You are way too devious for your own good," Penelope scolded him playfully once Spencer and Rosa had headed towards the bookstore and out of earshot.

"We both know that Spencer isn't a romantic and I doubt he would've thought about the fact that Rosa needs to be shown that he loves her or at least that he thought about her. Woman need to be loved and spoiled and Rosa is no different, just because she can probably buy whatever she wants. I was just giving Spencer a hint of how he could show Rosa that he loved her, without being obvious about it. I don't want Rosa to be upset with him, because Spencer doesn't know a thing about women as far as I know. He's never had a serious relationship as far as I am aware,"

"There was Maeve," Penelope reminded Dave.

Maeve Donovan had been a geneticist had been hiding from a stalker and she and Spencer had kept in contact through phone calls. Still, the stalker had managed to find her and Spencer and the team had arrived too late to save her life. Even though he had never met her in person he had been devastated, as he considered her the love of his life and as far Dave was aware and Spencer had never had another relationship, though he doubted that even Spencer was a total virgin. Dave didn't actually see that, as being possible at least once Spencer had been changed into a vampire since they tended to be sexual beings.

"Yes, there was Maeve, but he never actually got around to having a relationship with her due to circumstances, so I'm not sure if we should count her or not," Dave said.

"Still, Spencer considered her the love of his life whether or not they ever actually met until the day she was killed by her stalker," Penelope said that Dave thought about it then nodded.

"Alright, that's a point," Dave acknowledged. "Still, what I said a minute ago stands, Spencer doesn't really know anything about romance and I was just trying to help him along before he gets himself in trouble with Rosa for basically only using her for sex."

Penelope winced at that, but it was a valid point. "Alright, that's valid," Penelope decided. "It's clear that he heard what you said like you meant him to, so hopefully you helped him and it will give him a good experience for the future. Hopefully, he'll come to you or Aaron if he's at a loss of what to do, since not everybody is born a romantic at heart like the two of you."

"I was always a romantic, but I also had centuries of experience," Dave said, "and I'm sure Aaron will say the same. I had relationships before we met that first time and then met again 600 years later, so I learned from those experiences, but back then, romantic or not you had to find different ways to spoil your lady love. Things of monetary value were often either out of reach financially or didn't exist yet, so you just had to be more creative centuries ago. People worked a lot harder in those days, so romance wasn't anything like it is today, as men were often to tired to do anything other then eat their dinner and go to bed."

"And yet they still managed to get their wives pregnant," Penelope giggled.

"Which is a good thing or the three mortal species would not be as numerous as they are," Dave said.

"Women sure did have a lot more children in those days," Penelope reflected.

"There was no way to prevent them back then except to abstain from sex completely," Dave shrugged.

"I suppose I don't have a right to say anything considering how many children we've had over the years," Penelope said thoughtfully.

"Vampires are different and you know it," Dave said. "Our species don't have children frequently and usually it's only a singleton instead of the multiples we always have, because you were part werewolf when you were changed and that just carried over into your vampire life. Really, there's only so much you can learn from books and we both know that will be Spencer's first idea of how to learn about romance."

"Yeah, probably," Penelope agreed, as the two of them strolled slowly along with Dave's arm around his mate's waist. "You can learn a lot from movies to, but Spencer isn't really the video or TV watching type."

"Unless it's something like Star Trek or Dr. Who, which doesn't really have any romance in it," Dave corrected and Penelope nodded.

"Still, we're making assumptions based on the Spencer that we knew decades ago back when we worked at the BAU. Who's to say that he hasn't changed at least somewhat since then? He could have gotten into watching movies and TV shows as there is only so much reading or research you can do as he is a vampire now."

"That's true," Dave considered. "It's hard to change first impressions of someone and as a vampire I'm sure Spencer's tried new things, as he is nearly 200. Boredom is our kinds enemy and Spencer knows that better than most because all four of us have told him so more than once. It's quite possible that we're so used to seeing him as the shy lonely, super intelligent guy, that is always against trying certain things, because he just knows he's going to be lousy at them mostly because those things take coordination and he was very clumsy up until he was turned."

"So you see it's quite possible that he's learned a whole slew of new things in the last few decades," Penelope said. "He might've learned how to dance for example, although I doubt it, because he's still shy around women, but still it's a possibility. Instead of assuming why don't we just ask him if he needs help with Rosa. Better yet you and Aaron can ask him, because you're the ones that are romantics and know how to treat a lady."

"I think I will at least and we can leave Aaron out of it unless necessary," Dave decided. "Of course, Aaron also might have realized that Spencer might need help in the romance department."

"While you're doing that I will distract Rosa," Penelope said. "Perhaps, even ask Persephone to help."

"That's a good idea," Dave agreed. "We wouldn't want her to overhear me and perhaps, Aaron giving him advice on how to be romantic and she'll likely believe that the ideas I will suggest are all his. On the other hand, she's not stupid and she might realize somewhere down the road that we did help him out."

"Still, you're part of his family, someone he trusts and if he'll listen to anyone it's you and Aaron because you're the same sex he is. I doubt very much he would listen to me on this particular subject or Persephone either just because we're female. Besides, I know he's noticed how happy I am with you, how happy Persephone is with Aaron and he'll want to make Rosa just as happy."

"A point," Dave acknowledged quietly.

The two continued to stroll along looking in shop windows, but finally Penelope indicated a clothing shop and Dave held the door open for her.

"Why thank you," Penelope said kissing his cheek.

"You're quite welcome, sweetheart," Dave said smiling.

Penelope went inside with Dave following directly behind admiring his wife's backside subtly as he did so.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"Oh, Spencer!" Rosa exclaimed, as she saw all the beautiful roses that absolutely covered their suite at El Conquistador, which was owned by Waldorf Astoria Resorts. The two of them had come back to their room temporarily to shower and change clothes and Rosa had never expected to find the suite covered in gorgeous roses, but it was certainly a nice surprise "They're gorgeous!"

Rosa picked up some of the roses and sniffed them.

"What's the special occasion?" Rosa asked.

"Why does it have to be an occasion?" Spencer inquired with a straight face, as he came up behind Rosa and put his all around her waist. "Can't I do something, simply because I love you?"

"Of course you can," Rosa said turning around with the roses still in her arms and kissing him passionately and with every ounce of love she felt for him.

"Wow! If you're going to kiss me like that just, because I buy you roses I'm going to have to do it more often," Spencer stuttered.

"You just didn't buy me roses silly," Rosa said. "No, you bought me a whole room full of them and not just red ones either but every color variation possible. I absolutely love them, but not as much as I love you."

"You know I don't think I've been called silly before. Unemotional, cool, logical certainly, but not silly," Spencer considered, before his face broke into a smile that told Rosa he wasn't really serious."

"This was really, really thoughtful," Rosa told Spencer. "Not to mention and all that beautiful jewelry you bought me just a few days ago."

"You are quite welcome," Spencer said not admitting that it had been Dave's words to Penny that had gotten his brain in gear. Dave had reminded him by making a comment to Penny in the jewelry shop a few days ago, probably on purpose now that he thought about it, that mates or not Rosa still needed him to show her that he loved at least every once in awhile. Having a mate bond didn't mean that he could forget to do something for her that showed he loved her with everything he was. He knew he wasn't really the romantic type, but he could always go to Dave or Aaron for advice if he needed to and in fact, he could guess that they probably expected him to at some point. He wouldn't be surprised actually if one or both of them approached him to offer him advice.

"I'm glad you like them so much," Spencer said his brain already working on how to further show Rosa that he adored her. He couldn't take her out to some fine restaurant, since as vampires they didn't eat, but there was still plenty of things that they could do together.

"What's not to like?" Rosa asked before she kissed him again, which Spencer accepted thinking that his life was going to be very interesting from now on with Rosa in it. He was going to be lonely no longer.

"I believe that I'm going to reward you for being so thoughtful," Rosa said suddenly, as she attacked him and he fell onto the plush carpeted floor.

The two of them made love for some time before they figuratively came up for air both grinning like loons.

"Well, that's the way you're going to reward me for surprising you I'm definitely going to have to do it as often as possible," Spencer said, smiling widely an expression that was practically foreign on his face. He had a feeling that he would be smiling a lot more now with Rosa in his life and that was just fine with him. Love for his mate, who was laying on top of him swelled through his body and he knew if he felt like this when they had only met a few months ago then the next hundred years were going to be much happier then the first two.

Rosa didn't answer Spencer's statement, simply lay on top of him radiating contentment. She knew that her father would be thrilled for her when he finally did meet Spencer, even if that wasn't for awhile.

"Think you're pregnant?" Spencer asked quietly, as he held Rosa, so she wouldn't move from where she was laying.

"I don't know," Rosa answered honestly. "I don't suspect so, because it always takes awhile for a vampire to have children. Since we are mates though and since we're having sex with each other frequently it will happen sooner for us then it would for some vampire who takes random lovers."

"Well, Dave and Penny sure do pop them out every 3 to 5 years," Spencer sighed in disappointment, though it was also kind and nice to have those all to himself for a while without worrying about children.

"I know you're disappointed, so am I," Rosa promised him. "But if there's one thing our species doesn't do easily that's get pregnant, well, not unless we have sex with a mortal. You're the one that told me that both Penny and Persephone believe that the reason they get pregnant every 3 to 5 years is, because they were witches before they were vampires. Even though they are immortal now they are still technically witches as well. There's no point of stressing about it, as that could prevent me at least from conceiving, since it does for mortals. We'll simply take what comes, you know?"

"Alright, what happens, will happen," Spencer finally agreed burying his disappointment, knowing Rosa was right.

"I would love to have a little version of you running around," Rosa said, "but we must be patient."

"I think I prefer a little version of you," Spencer said his expression turning rather dreamy.

"Well, hopefully, soon one of us will get our wish," Rosa said.

"Did I mention you'll probably have at least twins when you finally do conceive?" Spencer said after a few minutes of silence.

"What makes you think that?" Rosa asked with a shocked expression.

"Former werewolf," Spencer explained simply. "Our species is known to have multiples on a regular basis unlike with humans or magicals who still have multiples sometimes, but it's not as common an occurrence. Penny and Persephone might not have told you this but every time they have children they always have multiples, although it's usually just twins, but occasionally it's triplets."

"Well, that's rather unusual," Rosa decided, after blinking in astonishment at that piece of information.

"What they might not have mentioned was that they have a great deal of werewolf blood, through their mother in their case instead of actually being former werewolves themselves. From the way I understand it their mother was bitten as a child and the werewolf was caught and put to death, as werewolves were even less accepted back then then they are now. Still, the man she eventually married knew and still fell in love with her. From what I understand their relationship was happier then a lot of them as they never lost that love for each other and they didn't even care when other people made disparaging comments when they found out that she was a werewolf. They had quite a few children and Persephone and Penelope were the youngest of a very numerous brood, even if all of their siblings are dead now."

"So you're saying that the werewolf genes carryover enough for me to possibly have multiples, just like Penny and Persephone always do," Rosa summarized.

"More or less," Spencer said. "I mean technically, they're a generation removed from being werewolves and yet they always have either twins or triplets, which tells me that the werewolf genes carryover for at least one generation and probably more. As for me I was a werewolf, as was my father so that makes the likelihood of us having at least twins every time is extremely high in my opinion."

"I wonder why they didn't turn out to be werewolves themselves since her mother was one?" Rosa mused.

"They believe that the magic in their blood protected them from being werewolves themselves, since both their father and their mother had it. Who knows what would've happened if only one of their parents had been magical instead of both?" Spencer said.

"So you think that having two magicals for parents overrode the werewolf genes," Rosa said.

"That's what they believe and what their parents believed because not a single one of the siblings was a werewolf, even though they had the genes and the blood," Spencer said. "Penny and Persephone had quite a few siblings, 17 if I'm remembering correctly and they were all multiples of one sort or another. Of course, as I said all those siblings are now dead, but they left numerous descendents and I believe that Dave and Penelope at least go visit those descendents every few years to keep in contact."

"I'm sure that Aaron and Persephone do the same, since family is important to most vampires and I hear the same is true for the most part in the magical community," Rosa said. "In fact, humans are the only one that don't seem to value their family a lot of times."

"You're saying that most times werewolves also value their family with exceptions like my father," Spencer said following along with what Rosa was implying easily.

"Exactly," Rosa agreed. "I'm sure you know that family and close friends are important to vampires because they live for hundreds, even thousands of years and having people you are close to, especially ones like you are makes that eternity a little easier to bear."

"That's a good point," Spencer murmured thoughtfully. "So another round?" Spencer asked changing the subject. He tried his best to keep the hope out of his voice, as he didn't want to force Rosa into anything.

"Sure, but then we need to contact the others to see if they want to do anything together as this is about spending time with family," Rosa reminded Spencer.

"I know," Spencer said.

"Alright then, another round," Rosa said smiling brightly and Spencer immediately started making love to her again without a word.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

Dave looked at the text he had just received and though it was unsigned he already knew who had sent it. The text simply said thanks.

"Who sent the text?" Penelope asked, as she had her days phone beep.

"Spencer, I don't even need to see the number to know that," Dave said.

"So what does it say?" Penny asked.

"It's only one word," Dave reported, "Thanks."

"Just that? No other message?" Penelope asked and Dave shook his head. "I wonder what he's thinking you for?"

"I suspect that he probably figured out that what I said in the jewelry store a few days ago was deliberate and likely reminded him that just because he and Rosa are mates does not mean that he doesn't need to do things for her just to let her know that he cares and loves her just like I do for you or Aaron does for Persephone," Dave explained

"Probably, as I can't think of anything else he would be thanking you for," Penelope said. "Not unless he has asked you for advice and you just didn't tell me."

"He hasn't and I would've said something if he had," Dave promised. "Unless of course, he asked me to keep it between the two of us, then I would be obligated not to say anything even to you."

"Well, I suspect he's thinking you because Rosa's very happy with him, though I'm surprised he hasn't thanked you before now as that was a few days ago," Penelope said.

"He probably hasn't being alone long enough to send me any kind of text," Dave suggested. "I'm sure he doesn't want Rosa to know that what I said was deliberate so he would overhear and wants her to think that it was all his idea."

"Men and their egos," Penelope said shaking her head in mock sorrow.

"If you tell me women don't have egos then I'll have to spank you," Dave mock threatened with a growl.

"They do," Penelope admitted easily. "On the other hand, females don't necessarily have to stroke their own ego by not telling their significant other that whatever they did wasn't all the own idea. They don't have as much trouble at admitting that they had help."

"It's a male thing," Dave shrugged.

"I know," Penelope grinned at him. "We all have our faults."

"Faults?" Dave mock growled, as he started to chase her around the room and Penelope ran away from him laughing the entire way. "I'll show you faults."

Finally Penelope allowed Dave to catch her and simply stood there in the gentle encirclement of his arms for awhile.

"I love you so much, Belle," Dave said finally, as he kissed her temple and then moved downwards to kiss her neck, right over where he had placed his mating mark so many years ago now.

"I love you too, ego and all," Penelope assured him, as she kissed him tenderly. "I suppose we should go join the others, since we're planning on going to a show, though it's a good thing we all speak Spanish."

"Yeah, good thing," Dave grinned, as he looked is mate appreciatively up and down. She was wearing a very expensive red gown that was more than appropriate for the theater or the opera, even if some people showed up in jeans and t-shirts nowadays. However, when theater had first been created hundreds of years ago black tie had been more appropriate for the men and ball gowns for the ladies with appropriate jewelry or at least whatever passed for really rich threads back then like a smoking jacket. Also, theater had only been for the cream of society and not for the ones with a more modest income or the poor. Nowadays, it was different though and anybody was welcome.

There were still a few opera houses that encouraged you to dress formally, though those type were mostly not here in Puerto Rico

"You look spectacular, gorgeous," Dave told his mate sincerely.

"Why thank you, handsome, I appreciate the compliment," Penelope replied, smiling. "You're not looking too bad yourself."

In fact, her mate looked damn delectable in his formal suit and tie, so delectable that she just wanted to rip it right off him but she could wait until the show was over before she did.

"Let's go, before I do what I really want to," Dave said.

Penelope had no trouble figuring out what that something was and laughed.

"Yes, we had better go as this is supposed to be time with family," Penelope giggled. "It's not as if you don't have plenty of opportunities to rip my clothes off and have your way with me."

"Something that will never get old," Dave said.

"Apparently not, as you have ripped apart some really nice outfits over the last couple of centuries," Penelope said.

"I always replace them," Dave shrugged not in the least ashamed of ruining a lot of really expensive and nice clothes. "Here I got you something to go with your gown."

Dave reached into the pocket of his pants and extracted a long box that Penelope knew contained a necklace.

Penelope didn't bother to protest because she know it wouldn't do any good, so she simply took the box and opened it to find an absolutely stunning pearl necklace. It was several strings of it, to where it would drape over her neck and chest. They must have been well over 100 pearls between the three strings and Penelope knew it was worth an absolute fortune, but then everything Dave gave her was, so it's not like it was an unusual event.

"It's gorgeous," Penelope said instead admiring it. There were several different colors along the strands, the pure white ones that she knew had not been color treated in anyway as her sharp eyesight told her so. There were also ones with a natural golden hue and yet more with a pinkish, bluish or purplish color that was also natural and also black ones. She knew that Dave never would've bought her the ones that had been color treated, as he considered them totally inferior to those that were natural. He was a man that had exquisite taste in many things, clothes, jewelry and a lot of other things as well.

"They're so beautiful," Penelope said, as she kissed Dave passionately her tongue entering his mouth to battle with his own.

"I'm glad you love them so much," Dave said once both of them had finally come up for air, even if they could have kept kissing each other forever.

"I should scold you for buying these for me considering you just bought me well over half a million in jewelry a few days ago," Penelope said. "Since I know it won't do any good though, I won't bother."

"No, it won't do any good so why bother to scold me for it?" Dave said with a smug look. "I like spoiling you as you're well aware by now and I plan on doing whatever I want when it comes to that and you can't stop me."

"Don't I know it," Penelope said rolling her beautiful brown orbs. "Let's get going, as I'm sure the others are wondering where we are. We don't want to be too late for the show.

"Spencer and Rosa at least probably won't have beaten us downstairs," Dave said. "If they have I will be very surprised."

"You're probably correct, considering they've only been mated a few months and I remember very well what it was like for you and I when we first mated," Penelope agreed, smiling as she remembered.

"Yeah, we couldn't keep our hands off each other," Dave said sounding nostalgic.

"You mean like now?" Penelope asked with a delicately raised eyebrow.

"While that's true, we were even worse in those days, because I was often gone for work and we hadn't been mated very long at that point," Dave defended himself.

"Whatever you say," Penelope teased him. "Let's get going."

This time Dave obeyed and opened the hotel room door for his lady love and she glided through gracefully.

Dave watched her with admiration in his gaze and then followed her making sure to close the door behind him, which automatically locked by itself.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~


	7. Chapter 7

Part 7

"Well, it's about time you two showed up," Persephone immediately teased the pair, as soon as they appeared in the lobby.

"We're not the last to arrive," Penelope told her sister cooly. "Besides, I had to thank Dave for this lovely rope pearls that he just gave me," She showed off her beautiful necklace that hung halfway down her breasts.

"I'm looking forward to you thanking me some more as soon as we get back here after the show, since we didn't have time for very much," Dave said smiling.

"It's exquisite," Aaron said smiling. "Dave certainly has good taste."

"He always has," Penelope agreed.

"Well, just look at what Aaron gave me," Persephone said showing off her ears where hung a pair of beautiful emerald earrings. The emeralds were multi-stone and were in a simple platinum setting. They hung from her ears and went perfectly with the green gown she was wearing.

"Those are really gorgeous," Penelope said, as she looked at her sisters new earrings. "Aaron has good taste."

"I certainly think so," Persephone grinned, as she kissed Aaron's cheek. "He also gave me this," Persephone added displaying her new emerald ring that went perfectly with the earrings.

"Well, you certainly outdid yourself, didn't you?" Dave said to Aaron as he had been listening to the ladies conversation.

"And you didn't?" Aaron asked calmly with a raised eyebrow. "That pearl necklace is exquisite and I don't think I've seen anything like it since at least the early 1930s or 40s, where such things were more common. Of course, that was all white pearls not all different colors."

"I try," Dave said giving a careless shrug. "That Penelope loves it is the only thing that matters to me."

Aaron nodded at that for he totally agreed. So long as Persephone loved whatever he gave her then he was content.

"I totally agree with that," Aaron said.

"Spencer and Rosa had better hurry up or we're going to miss the beginning of the show," Dave said. "It's rather rude to arrive after the current has gone up."

"I'm not surprised they haven't arrived yet," Aaron smirked. "They are newly mated after all."

"Very true," Dave said trying to keep the impatience out of his voice, as what anniversary was approaching was only a few days away, and he wished he hadn't suddenly remembered, what was in three days. Remembering the original Penelope's death, always put him in a foul mood and now was not the time. He couldn't seem to stop thinking about her death at this time of year unless he was significantly distracted.

"I'm sure they'll arrive any minute," Penelope told Dave. "We still have well over half an hour to get to the theater and it isn't that far away."

The four of them chatted for a few minutes when Rosa and Spencer finally showed themselves looking sheepish.

"Good, you're finally here. We need to get going," Dave said in a rather sharp tone. "It's rude to be late."

"Sorry," Spencer apologized.

"Don't mind him, he's just rather inpatient tonight," Penelope told Spencer giving her mate the stink eye. On the inside though she was also a little concerned for him for it wasn't like Dave to be rude unless it was necessary for some reason and he had just been in such a good mood, so she suddenly wondered what the problem was. She was going to have to ask him after the show, try to get to the bottom of whatever the problem suddenly was. It never even occurred to her that it was very close to the anniversary of her incarnation's death or that Dave had been able to distract himself for the last day or so from thinking about it, as it always made him sad, furious and regretful all rolled into one. The murder of the original Penelope Garcia was only a few days away.

"Well, we did hold you up and for that we both apologize," Rosa said, looking puzzled at Dave's sharp tone. Surely they weren't that late, were they?

Spencer had already guessed what the problem was, but he said nothing, as he felt that it wasn't his place.

"You're newly mated, no apology necessary," Aaron told them. "Which is something that Dave is forgetting. When you're newly mated you have a harder time tearing yourselves away from each other and you haven't even been together for a year yet, much less for centuries."

Dave knew that this was Aaron's way of silently rebuking him for his rudeness and impatience.

"Alright, I apologize," Dave said finally knowing that Aaron was very right and he had been being rude or at least his tone had been, which was very unlike him actually.

"Let's get going," Persephone said, "or we really are going to be late."

The others agreed and so followed Dave out the door to the limo that had been ordered for this occasion.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"Alright, David Nathaniel Rossi what's your problem?" Penelope asked immediately as soon as they walked back their suite after the show. "It's not like you to be rude unless the situation is rather unusual, especially not to our family and that includes Rosa. Why did your happy mood suddenly change?"

"It's almost that anniversary," Dave explained quietly, knowing that sooner or later his mate would remember that the anniversary of her incarnation's death was only a few days away and then just scold him for not coming to her in the first place. "I've been very distracted over the last day or so, but my mind was determined I was going to think about it and it just suddenly came to a head after I didn't have anything to distract me. Most times you're very good at distracting me around this time, but you know that some years I can't help but dwell on what should have been."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I forgot," Penelope said immediately contrite, hugging him close to her.

"It's okay, it doesn't have an impact on you, like it does on me," Dave said quietly accepting the comfort that his mate was offering. "I know that we're back together now, but still I can't help but think we could've been together for over 800 years instead of just two centuries. Most of the time it never even crosses my mind, but then my mind turns to thoughts of her around this time and I realize it's nearly that anniversary. I can't help it when the emotion I felt doing that time come crashing down on me, which is why I was so sharp with Spencer and Rosa."

"But this year we're with the others instead of taking the time to be by ourselves until the sadness passes," Penelope realized. "We usually only take a month or maybe six weeks of vacation and were always alone by the time the anniversary of my incarnations murder is upon us, but we wanted to take a couple weeks longer so that we could have more time to get to know Rosa."

"Yes," Dave said. "It was January the 24th when her father killed your incarnation on accident and it's only a few days until."

"We'll light a candle, just as soon as the 24th rolls around in three days and that will make you feel better, just like it always does," Penelope promised. "I know that I'm technically, the reincarnation of that Penelope Garcia with differences of course, but there's no harm in lighting a candle for her soul or even just in remembrance of what we both lost. We've been doing it for a very long time anyway so I don't see any reason that we can't continue our tradition."

"Yeah, it was a good tradition to start after we had retired from the BAU," Dave said looking slightly more cheerful. "Thank you for caring so much you certainly made me feel better."

"I'm only sorry that I didn't recognize why you were so sharp with Spencer and Rosa sooner," Penelope said. "I knew that it wasn't like you at all, yet it didn't occur to me that it was near that anniversary and it should have."

"You can't be expected to remember everything, especially if it doesn't affect you the same way," Dave offered.

"I should have though, because I know how much pain her death still causes you even after all this time, even if I am the reincarnation of her," Penelope said. "I think that one of us needs to explain to Rosa why you were acting like that though, as it only seems fair. She doesn't really know anything about you and you know that Spencer won't explain without your permission and neither will Aaron or Persephone. I'm sure all of them, except for Rosa have figured out why you were so moody, rude and impatient by now, even if it just a few words. I'm sure that anyone except Rosa has figured out by now that it's just the way of covering your pain. I now understand much better than I did back when I was just a witch that if you hurt one of us emotionally it effects on of us for the rest of our existence."

"Yeah, mortals get over things much easier than vampires do, especially if it affects us very deeply like the death of a loved one and not by natural causes, but through some other means like sickness or murder. Death is natural for all mortal beings, but the only way to really to die is of old age."

"Which wouldn't affect you as badly as some one you love going by some other means, being poisoned or stabbed or blown up for instance."

"It still affects us, but we know it's a natural process so it isn't as painful. We still mourn just not as deeply," Dave said and Penelope nodded for she knew this.

They were both silent for awhile and then Dave said suddenly. "I think you should be the one to explain to Rosa why I was rather rude, even if it was just a sharp tone. Have Spencer help you if you want. I think I better stay out of the way until I'm sure that she's not upset with me as some vampires are very touchy about others manners and are offended easily and while Rosa doesn't seem to be of that type I want to be sure before she sees me."

"You weren't that rude honey, as I put a stop to it before you were, but still, I'll talk to her for you. Explain the circumstances to her. I'm sure she'll have a hard time believing it just as Aaron did when you told him, but I'll let you know what she says either way. She doesn't seem unreasonable though or easy to offend, and I'm sure she'll forgive you, even if she doesn't believe what I tell her. I can't see her holding a grudge over such a minor incident."

"Let's hope not, because she's technically, now family and Aaron and I were going to present her with our family crests before we all head our separate ways for awhile."

"Which we can cut short you know if you wanted to," Penelope offered. "We've been here for nearly 8 weeks now and I've spent plenty of time with my sister and the others."

"That's okay bella, I'll be better after the anniversary. You really don't see your sister, Aaron or Spencer for that matter very much and I don't want to interrupt your time with them. Yes, I know you're going to institute girl time, so you see each other several times a year for a few days, but still, this is a time for all of us to be together for a few weeks before we go our separate ways. You go talk to Rosa now I'll be down in the bar whenever you're done."

Penelope nodded and left the suite, heading for the one that Spencer and Rosa had rented for their stay in San Juan.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

Penelope knocked on the door of Rosa and Spencer's suite and waited. After a few minutes the door opened and Spencer stood there looking rather annoyed and Penelope knew she had probably interrupted something, which wasn't surprising.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to Rosa if you don't mind Spence," Penelope told her friend.

Spencer nodded after a few seconds and studying her and Penelope could tell that he had already guessed what this was about. "I'll wait for you down in the lobby," Spencer offered.

"That's okay, I might need your help," Penelope said.

Spencer opened the door wider to let Penelope inside and she entered trying to hide her nervousness.

"Rosa, Penny wants to talk to you for a few minutes," Spencer said.

"I heard," Rosa said.

"Why don't we sit down," Spencer suggested calmly.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" Rosa asked Penelope as soon as they were settled on the comfortable furniture in the sitting area of the suite.

"First Dave wanted me to apologize for his attitude," Penelope began. "There is a reason for it, but it's so fantastical that I'm not sure you'll believe it."

Rosa listened, as Penelope explained all about her incarnation's first death and how she had sworn that she would come back to him.

"It took 600 years for that to happen and since it's near that anniversary, which is in three days he's been a little out of sorts," Penelope explained.

"You're right that is fantastical," Rosa said trying to absorb what she had learned.

"I know it is, but I have memories of my former incarnation," Penelope said. "At first I just dreamed about him and me in rather compromising positions. We didn't introduce ourselves or anything, as it seemed as if we had known each other for a few weeks at least or at most a few months, so I had no way to find him. I could've found him quite easily if I'd only known his name since I was a very good hacker even back then.

"Still, I knew instantly who he was when he came back to the BAU those two centuries ago and he certainly recognized me immediately, even before he shook my hand. Shaking my hand just confirmed what both of us already knew. Once Dave and I had gotten back together more of my memories of my previous life started to come back mostly when I slept. I won't say I have all my former life memories, but I certainly have most of them, because Dave didn't turn me into a vampire for quite awhile."

"It's not that I disbelieve you I'm just surprised that he survived all those centuries after your former incarnation was killed," Rosa said.

"Yeah, I know believe me, I know how fantastic it is," Penelope said. "In any case, usually I keep better track of the anniversary, but it never even occurred to me this time. We usually spend a few days alone until it has passed. Well, either that or I distract him to the point that he doesn't even think about it until it's already over. We always light a candle though, at a church somewhere in remembrance of my former incarnation. Dave also usually makes a large donation."

"So are you going to do that this time?" Spencer asked curiously.

"Yes, in three days when the anniversary is once again upon us," Penelope said. "I know that I am alive, but we all know that deep emotional pain affects our species forever. Dave's always rather sad and melancholy during this time and I can't blame him for that at all considering. He also has far less patience, as normally, he is never rude unless he has to be, like someone being annoying for example."

"No, I can't either," Rosa agreed wondering how Dave had survived the pain of his mate's death, as she wasn't sure if she could have done it if the same thing happened to her, no matter what her mate wanted.

"You are wondering how he survived," Penelope said knowingly.

"Yes, I am," Rosa admitted.

"He was in a lot of pain for those six centuries, but he did his best to keep himself distracted," Penelope said. "He's told me all about his travels and also his forming of the BAU with help of course. It wasn't easy for him as I'm sure you can guess and it was only my promise that I would come back to him that allowed him to survive. He's been very happy the last couple of hundred years, but the pain of that Penelope's death will always be with him, even if it's not as intense as it was before we met again."

"I can definitely understand that," Rosa decided. "I'm not sure I could have gone through the same thing and not broken my promise."

"Well, that's Dave for you, stubborn to a fault," Penelope said fondly with a little smile. "It's just a good thing that magicals are reincarnated all the time. Dave believes that others are also reincarnated, not just magicals and who knows he might be right."

"I doubt most of the time those that are reincarnated return with their memories intact," Spencer said. He of course, had done research on the subject at least as much as he could.

"Well, I didn't start having memories until I reached 25 and I only started to remember our rather intimate relationship at first and only when I slept. Of course, I realize that that Penelope Garcia is a part of me and I was bound to have her memories as well, even if they were locked away. I suspect this is true for all those that are truly reincarnated, but most of the time memories of a previous incarnation likely stay locked away. I believe, the only reason I remembered Dave at all, was the rather abrupt way that our relationship ended. It left things unfinished between us. The two of us should have been together for 800 years altogether, instead of just 200."

"Yes, definitely," Spencer said. "Unfortunately, that Penelope's father, I believe you said his name was Sylvester, hated vampires so much that he was willing to risk his daughter's life in a fit of rage. No, he didn't know that you're former incarnation would get in the way of his bullet, but if he had been thinking rationally he never would have fired his gun in the first place, because he would have realized that a vampire wouldn't be hurt by a mere piece of lead. To defy your family is never easy, especially if you know you are loved and you have a close relationship with them. In my case, it wasn't so much I defied my family to go to college at at young age, because my father left when I was just a child and my mother was very ill. I would have though, if my father had for instance tried to force me into not getting involved with someone I loved whether that was a vampire, another werewolf, human or magical or even someone that was the same-sex. Your incarnation was strong enough to defy the father she loved, but then I also know that the bond between a vampire and their mate is an incredible force."

"Absolutely," both Penelope and Rosa said the same time.

"That Penelope's father must've had an intense deep hatred for vampires in order for him not to pay attention to what he was doing," Rosa said speculatively. "If he had been thinking straight, as Spencer suggested, he never would have fired his weapon at anybody, though he might've fired it into the air to supposedly scare Dave away."

"That never would have worked," both Spencer and Penelope said the same time.

"No, it wouldn't have, and I'm sure deep down this Sylvester knew that, but his hatred was so deep and intense that he wasn't thinking straight."

"I think that's definitely a given," Penelope said.

"So what happened to that Penelope's father?" Rosa asked already suspecting answer.

"Oh, didn't I say?" Penelope asked rhetorically knowing that she hadn't

"No, you didn't. I suspect what I'm going to hear I'd still like to have it confirmed," Rosa said.

"Well, Dave was feeling a great deal of anger and grief as you no doubt suspect and so he killed Sylvester a lot faster than he really wanted to because if it. It was basically a quick and painless death instead of what Dave would've liked to do. He's told me more than once that he would've liked of torture the man for a very long time before allowing him to meet his own end."

"Now that's something I definitely approve of," Rosa said much to Penelope's surprise, not so much to Spencer's, as he knew vampires tended to be rather violent, particularly when one had been hurt deeply in someway or someone they loved had been.

"I can see you really don't understand the need for violence despite being a vampire for 200 years, Rosa said. "You know in your head that once a vampire is wounded emotionally it never fully disappears from their psyche. They carry that emotional pain around with them for the rest of their life, even if it fades after awhile to where it's not as intense or as noticeable. What Sylvester Garcia did in a moment of rage is something that affected Dave deeply and he will never get over it completely, even though you are back at his side. Yes, now that the two of you are back together he's much happier and doesn't think about your first death anymore, except around the anniversary of that Penelope's death. However, that doesn't mean that he will ever really forget something that was such a pivotal event in his life. If you wound a vampire in such a way they can hold a grudge until they meet their own deaths, which basically means an eternity. Yes, it might have been an accident, but from Dave's point of view I can understand why he considered it murder, because if only Sylvester hadn't hated vampire so intensely it never would have happened.

"Look at it this way, he didn't even try to know Dave, didn't even try to accept his daughter's choice of mate and then he made the gigantic mistake of trying to supposedly scare Dave away with a gun, which never would have worked. This is something he would have known if he had been thinking straight. I'm not saying that there weren't many mistakes made all around, like if Dave hadn't been such a gentleman he and that Penelope could have run away with each other sooner and the father never would've been able to find them due to lack of technology at the time. With the way that vampires can run they could've been 200 or 300 miles away before morning," Rosa explained.

"Dave realized that as soon as my incarnation was dead that he shouldn't have been such a gentleman and convinced Penelope to go away with him sooner. I remember agreeing to run away with him just a day or two before I was killed. I also understand that Dave was trying his best to get to know me before he asked me to do something that took me away from the only home I had ever known. I was just a simple village girl after all, one that had never married although that was really unusual at the time," Penelope said.

"You can tell Dave that I accept his apology and I understand why he's feeling out of sorts and not acting like his normal self and won't be until after the 24th. Besides, he wasn't that rude anyway and believe me, I've heard much worse. His attitude just took me by surprise that's all, as he had been so gentlemanly up until then. Nothing like what you described has ever happened to me and I'm not sure I would've handled it as well as he seems to have."

"I'm not sure it's ever happened before, except with him," Spencer said.

"I've never heard of it happening, but that doesn't mean it hasn't at least once," Rosa shrugged. "It's not really the kind of thing you tell total strangers, so who knows if it's ever happened before? I know the only reason you told me is because I'm now part of your family."

"That's exactly why I suggested you be told as everyone else knows," Penelope agreed. "And no, its not really something you tell total strangers or even just casual acquaintances."

"Definitely not, because you would be looked at as if you were insane or maybe just weird and someone that told tall tales to garner attention," Spencer said.

"Come to think of it, you didn't seem surprised that what Penelope told us," Rosa said looking at her mate.

"Dave with Penny's support told me a long time ago," Spencer shrugged. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, but it wasn't my secret. It was a personal matter."

"I understand," Rosa said and she did. It hadn't been her mate's secret to to tell, not unless he had been given permission. "What about we all light a candle in memory of that Penelope Garcia that lost her life before her time. In fact, technically, she never should've died at all as she would've been turned into a vampire."

"I would've been just as soon as Dave and I were away from the village that I grew up and somewhere relatively safe. That was the plan anyway, a plan that we never had a chance to implement," Penelope remembered. "As for all of you lighting a candle in honor of my former incarnation I don't see Dave objecting to it, even though it is something we usually do alone. I'll check with him just to be sure, but I'm positive he will be honored."

"Just let us know one way or the other," Spencer said.

"I will," Penelope said, as she rose to leave. "I'll let you get back to what you were doing before I interrupted," Penelope added with a grin causing Spencer to look down at his feet, which was a sure sign that he was embarrassed and that he would be blushing if he was capable of it anymore.

Rosa just rolled her eyes to show what she thought of Penelope's comment but said nothing.

"I'll let Dave know that he's forgiven for his momentary rudeness," Penelope said as she saw herself out.

"Well, now that she's gone again why don't you and I get back to what we were doing," Rosa purred seductively.

Spencer immediately looked up his eyes bright with love, desire and lust and headed into the bedroom without another word, Rosa following him.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

Three days later it was a solemn group that made its way into a Baptist church, closer to their hotel.

A man in priestly garb immediately approached them.

"How can I help you, my children?" The priest asked knowing immediately that this group were all vampires, but so long as they meant no harm they were welcome here.

"We just want to light some candles for a departed friend," Dave explained calmly with a sad solemn look in his eyes. "David Rossi at your service."

"Paul Newburg," The priest introduced himself. "I'm in charge of this place."

"I'm Penelope Garcia Rossi it's nice to meet you Minister Newburg," Penelope introduced yourself. "This is something that we do every year on this day," Penelope added, as she grasped Dave hand in her own, understanding the emotions that he was feeling at this moment. Dave was feeling sadness, despair, longing for something he knew would never be. All these emotions were mixed with rage, but also understanding that the past could not be changed. Finally, his emotions leveled out to where they became a little happier as he remembered that his lady love had indeed been reincarnated and was standing at his side helping him get through this.

"This is Aaron and Persephone Hotchner and Spencer and Rosa Reid," Dave added. "They are very good friends of ours and have joined us in this time of remembering."

"So you just want to remember your friend that has passed on," the priest said with gentle compassion in his eyes. He also noticed that the two blond hair ladies looked identical, except that one had longer hair so he suspected that they were identical twins that had either been born vampires or had been changed, since as far as he knew identical twins weren't born naturally to their species. Actually, they had likely been changed or their hair would be the same length the minister figured, since they were apparently identical.

"Yes, Minister," Dave said solemnly. "Our friend was murdered many years ago. Today is the anniversary of her death."

"I am so sorry my son, I can tell that you cared about her very much," the minister said.

The minister didn't say so, but he could tell that the death of this person had affected the vampire that was standing for the group deeply. The dark haired vampire with the kind ancient eyes had likely been in love with her and he knew unlike many people that vampires didn't get over things like that, especially if it affected them deeply.

"I did, more than I cared about anyone before I met my mate," Dave said simply, gesturing at the blond women at his side that he had already learned was named Penelope.

The minister knew that there was a lot being left out of the explanation but the man named David Rossi would tell him if he wanted to otherwise it was none of his business.

"If you need any help I'll be in my office otherwise I'll leave you to it," The minister said.

"That's okay, we've done this many times before," Penelope answered. "It's a yearly ritual, has been for decades now."

The minister nodded and headed towards his office leaving the four of them alone in the sanctum

"Well, let's get started shall we," Aaron suggested solemnly after a few minutes of sober silence.

Each of the six of them silently lit a candle and stayed solemn. The other four left Dave and Penelope to the memories part of the ritual for a vampire's memories as well as emotions never faded, which was why Dave always had trouble when the anniversary of the original Penelope Garcia came around. Dave couldn't help remembering all that he had lost on the day of his mate's death, even though she was again standing at his side and had been for two centuries. Penelope was a reincarnation of Dave's original mate so had memories of her previous life and could help Dave remember all the good times that he'd had with her former self.

Dave and Penelope talked very quietly for over an hour before they rose to find the other four waiting for them patiently at the back of the church.

"Just let me leave a donation, then we can go," Dave said his tone and body language no longer so sad and solemn. He had done his duty to the memory of the first Penelope Garcia and so he was much happier as a result.

Dave found the donation box and left thousands of dollars in it as he knew the money would help many people and then turned away, but saw how the other five leaving their own donations before following him out of the church and into the bright sunlight.

"You didn't need to do that," Dave told the others including his mate.

"We wanted to," Spencer answered before anyone else could. "The money will be used for worthy causes and it helps out the minister's parishioners who are not as flush and might desperately need help to put food on the table and clothes on the backs of their family and there are many poor in Puerto Rico."

"It was the right thing to do," Rosa added.

"Yes, it was," Aaron agreed and Dave just shook his head smiling

"It's not as if we can't easily afford it," Persephone added, as she kissed Dave cheek with affection.

"Alright, fine," Dave said smiling. "Let's get out here, shall we?"

"Let's go do something fun, as I think we deserve to," Penelope added not wanting Dave to dwell on the death of her incarnation."

"Sounds okay with me," Dave agreed, knowing that his mate was only trying to distract him from his rather solemn and melancholy thoughts.

The two of them walked towards their separate cars discussing what they wanted to do for a few hours before heading back to the hotel and finally they agreed on something.

Unknown to them the priest had come out of his office and was watching them out the window knowing that he would be forever grateful to them for they had left over half a million between the six of them in the poor box and that kind of money would help a lot of people. It was certainly an act of God that the six had chosen this particular church to do their ritual for the money would help many people for a long time.

"Lord bless them and keep them and bless him with their hearts desire, as such generous souls are so rare in this world," the minister said. Finally he turned away as the six got into their separate vehicles and drove out of sight.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"I'm pregnant," Rosa told Spencer excitedly. "I can't believe it, but I am."

"You are?" Spencer asked looking happy and excited. "You're sure?"

"Positive, if I wasn't I would've said anything," Rosa said.

"Oh, I'm so excited," Spencer said finally allowing himself to believe and be incredibly happy.

"So am I, as I certainly didn't expect to be this soon, as we've only been together about six months, less a few days. The normal time for a vampire to get pregnant is 10 or 15 years, but that's only because they have sex with random vampires. Still, I would've expected it to take at least a few years not only six months."

"Being mates helps," Spencer mentioned not for the first time.

"Well, yes, but it still should've taken longer and I don't understand why it didn't," Rosa said genuinely puzzled, as it went against everything she knew about her race.

"It doesn't really matter," Spencer told her gently. "It might always remain a mystery as to why you got pregnant so soon, but I'll always be grateful that you did. The ironic thing is I never wanted children back when I was a werewolf as I was too afraid of not only passing on my mothers schizophrenia, but also my condition. Now that I'm a vampire and no longer a werewolf I can no longer get schizophrenia and I also can't pass on the werewolf genes to any children we have or at least if they do get the gene they won't be able to transform."

"Yes, it's a good thing you were turned into a vampire or you would have been long dead before we ever had a chance to meet and to me that's much more important than you being a werewolf or the possibility of you getting your mother's illness."

Spencer was truly touched at Rosa words and showed his appreciation by kissing her senseless.

"I can't wait to tell the others that you're pregnant," Spencer said grinning happily, as he placed a gentle hand on Rosa's still flat belly.

"Neither can I," Rosa admitted smiling. "My father will be thrilled when he finds out as well."

"Well, we're supposed to meet the others downstairs in about an hour, so why don't we get ready?" Spencer suggested. "We can tell them the news as soon as we're altogether and I know they'll be very happy for us."

"I can think of other things we could be doing, since we can get dressed in a few seconds," Rosa suggested with a seductive wink, swaying her hips from side to side and watching as her mate instantly became entranced by the motion.

"Well, I suppose we do have time for a quickie before we need to meet the others," Spencer gave in without argument.

Rosa smiled at him and took off her clothes at lightning speed while Spencer did the same.

It was only seconds later that the two of them were rutting like animals in front of the fireplace that was at one end of the room which emitted a nice warmth. It was just over 45 minutes later when they were both temporarily sated.

"We had better get dressed now, as we don't want to be late two times on the same holiday and have the others tease us for always being the last to arrive," Spencer told Rosa seriously. "Believe me, they will."

"That just means they really love us," Rosa told Spencer.

"I know that and it's certainly different from the teasing I endured as a child, as it's always goodnatured," Spencer said. "Still, we need to get ready to go, as I don't want to be last to arrive like we were a few days ago."

"The day that Dave was so impatient and just a little rude, although now I understand why he was," Rosa reflected.

"Normally, David Rossi is a true gentleman and so is Aaron for that matter," Spencer told Rosa. "He can be rude when the situation is warranted like when some man is bothering in Penny for instance. Penny of course, always tells whatever man is bothering her that she's taken, but sometimes, they don't listen very well. Sometimes even displaying the crest doesn't do any good because some people don't recognize it or don't understand the significance if they do. If Dave is with her at the time he immediately comes to protect the woman he loves, even if Penny can protect herself."

"Well, I'll certainly do that with you if anybody tries that kind tactic, somewhere down the road," Rosa teased him.

"I doubt you'll ever have to where I am concerned," Spencer said. "I might have to do that with you since you're the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on and I'm sure other people vampires or mortals will recognize that."

Rosa had known for months, had in fact, had learned just a few weeks after they'd met that Spencer didn't consider himself handsome, not even as a vampire. She knew very well why he thought of himself as plain or even ugly and she really wished she could dig up the Senior Reid, not to mention every single student that had made malicious remarks about his looks and murder them slowly one by one. Those people had just been jealous, not only of his looks, but his intelligence and his kindness. She knew that Spencer wouldn't believe her if she said anything though, so she was just going to have to try her best to change how he saw himself and she was determined to succeed. She was sure that the more time they spent together that the more he wouldn't see himself as an ugly duckling like so many people had told him centuries ago, even if it wasn't in those exact words.

"Let's get dressed. We only have about five minutes to get downstairs," Rosa said finally and Spencer nodded helping his mate to her feet.

The two of them started moving rapidly around the hotel suite and were ready to go in less than a minute.

The two left the room together, though Spencer opened the door for his mate, and they used the stairs instead of taking the elevator that was much too slow when they were in a hurry and made it with three minutes to spare.

"Well, you are you actually on time," Dave immediately teased them.

Spencer immediately noticed that Dave seemed to have returned to normal after the ceremony of a few days ago and he was glad to see it.

"Of course we are," Spencer said mildly without changing his expression. "Did you really think we wouldn't be?"

Dave didn't have time to answer as Aaron and Persephone appeared right on time.

"Now that we're all here we have an announcement," Spencer told the others quietly, as he led them to a more private corner of the lobby.

"You're pregnant?" Persephone squealed before Rosa or Spencer could say a word.

"Ah! You ruined our surprise," Rosa pouted only half playfully.

"Sorry, but I was about to say the same thing as you have that expectant mother's glow about you," Penelope said, as she hugged her friend.

"Yes, congratulations from me as well," Aaron said grinning at Spencer who couldn't help but grin back, because he was so happy.

"I know it's rather unexpected," Rosa began.

"It doesn't matter whether it was unexpected or not," Persephone told her friend. "We all know that you're referring to a vampire's fertility, but you should just be grateful that you got pregnant so soon into your relationship. Of course, Aaron and I did as well, though I will admit that I was mortal at the time and not a vampire yet, so I know that made a very big difference."

"I'm grateful, but I'm still in shock," Rosa admitted. "I really didn't expect to get pregnant for at least five or six years."

"It doesn't matter how it happened just know that the child will be loved by all of us and not just his or her parents," Penelope said. "I for one plan to spoil any child you have rotten."

"Me too," Persephone said grinning.

"Well, since you always spoil each others children I don't know why mine and Rosa's should be any different," Spencer snorted, though his grin at the thought gave away the fact that he wasn't upset.

"I hate to spoil your news, but Dave and I have an announcement to," Penelope finally said smiling.

"You're pregnant?" Rosa said looking at Penelope in amazement.

"Yeah, I can already feel the life glowing within me and I should know what it feels like to be pregnant by now, even if I'm not showing yet."

"Ah, isn't it amazing that all three of us are pregnant at basically the same time?" Persephone asked, causing everyone else, except Aaron to stare at Persephone in amazement.

"You too?" Penelope asked her sister who nodded happily.

"Like you I can already feel the life growing within me and I also know what pregnancy feels like by this time, even though just like you I'm not yet showing," Persephone said.

"What are the odds that all three of us all pregnant at basically the same time?" Rosa asked.

"At least 1,000,000,000 to 1," Spencer answered immediately already having done the calculations in his head.

"Then how is it possible?" Aaron asked, not doubting Spencer's calculations for even a millisecond. "Those are very long odds for all three of you to get pregnant at basically the same time, especially considering a vampire female's fertility, at least usually.

"I'll give you a simple answer," Dave said grinning.

"What's that?" Spencer asked curiously.

"Faith," Dave answered simply. "I think we're all being rewarded for being so generous in our donations to that Baptist church a few days ago. The money that we each gave will help a lot of people who are less flush then we are, as you had already pointed out Spencer. I truly believe that our generosity is being rewarded."

"God helps those that help others," Spencer quoted.

"Exactly," Dave said.

"I don't know if I believe that's the explanation or not," Rosa said doubtfully.

"Dave's always been the most religious of us," Aaron told Rosa. "He grew up in a time where religion was much more a part of everyday life then it is today. Come to think of it both Persephone and I usually give generously to charity, but we haven't done that in the last 50 years as neither one of us found a charity that interested us."

"So you're thinking that's why we having gotten pregnant in five decades," Persephone said.

"I'm saying it's a possibility," Aaron corrected. "It's certainly as plausible an explanation as to the one you came up with about wishing not to get pregnant for awhile on a shooting star."

"I sincerely believe that it's because of our generous donations that all three of our mates are pregnant now," Dave said, smiling joyfully.

"Well, I suppose it's a good explanation as any," Rosa said, "Since I definitely don't have one that's any better."

"Think about it. We just made all donation a few days ago and now you, Penelope and Persephone are pregnant at the same time," Spencer said. "That is the only significant event I can think of that could be connected to all the woman conceiving, as it's only a few days after we donated quite a bit of our money to a worthy cause. I'm sure that God appreciates all of us looking after his children considering that times are economically tough right now for a lot of people."

"I didn't know you were so religious, Spencer," Dave teased him, but there was a proud gleam in his eyes.

"It's simply a matter of logic, Dave," Spencer protested with humor in his eyes.

"Whatever you say," Dave said, holding up his hands in defense.

"Well, it looks like all of us have a lot to look forward to," Aaron said smiling hugely.

"That we do," Spencer immediately agreed. "I for one am looking forward to the birth of my first child ever, while all of you are old hats at having children."

"We didn't think about it like that," Penelope said. "This will be Rosa and Spencer's first child while the rest of us have had multiple children over the years."

"That's true," Persephone said.

"We had better get going or we'll be late," Dave finally suggested. "Just so you know I too am looking forward to the birth of Spencer and Rosa's child more than my own, since it will be a first for them. Hopefully, there will be many more in the future."

"Amen," both Spencer and Rosa said at the same time as if in benediction.

"We certainly hope that we're blessed with many more children in the future," Rosa said.

"Definitely," Spencer agreed smiling at the thought.

"That is a hope that all of us share," Aaron told the pair who nodded in thanks with grateful smiles.

This was definitely what a family was all about and that was sharing each other's happiness at such an important event.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~


	8. Chapter 8

Part 8

A little less than a week later it was time for their holiday to come to an end for it was February 1. They had enjoyed each other's company for two months, but it was time for them to go their separate ways for awhile.

"This is been a really interesting, but enjoyable experience," Rosa told everyone. She as well as Penelope and Persephone were now visibly pregnant, though she was showing more, simply because she was slimmer then the other two.

"Yes, it has," Dave said, as he gave Rosa a hug and a platonic kiss on both cheeks. "It's certainly been very interesting getting to know you and hopefully you'll join us for our next holiday."

"I'm sure we will," Rosa said and Spencer nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we certainly had fun," Spencer agreed smiling. "I enjoyed learning some of the history of Puerto Rico."

"You'll let us know when you give birth right?" Persephone asked.

"Yes, let us know whether it's a boy or a girl or even both," Penelope added mischievously.

"We will," Spencer promised, knowing that twins was likely considering he was a former werewolf.

"You do the same," Rosa added.

"We will," Penelope and Persephone repeated together.

"Before you go all of us have gifts for you Rosa," Dave said. He had been chosen to be spokesman.

Rosa nodded saying nothing about how it was unnecessary, because she would only offend both couples or at least Aaron and Dave who had been raised within the vampire community. There were certain things you didn't do and one of those was protest any gifts they gave you, especially if they did so with good intentions.

Dave took a ring box out of his pocket while Aaron did the same.

Rosa took the ring box out of Dave's hand and opened it to find a beautiful ring made out of platinum and silver with the Rossi crest. There were even little slivers of gemstones glittering from within the metal.

"Thank you it's gorgeous," Rosa said sincerely kissing Dave's cheek in thanks.

"You're quite welcome," Dave said kissing her on both cheeks in the Italian fashion for the second time.

Rosa then turned to Aaron and took the ring box he was holding out to her. Inside was a similar ring made out of the same materials, except it had the Hotchner crest engraved into the metal instead of the Rossi one.

"Thank you it's beautiful," Rosa told Aaron

"Both of us want you to wear both rings always, particularly when you go out in public," Dave said.

"These rings indicate that you are under our protection, the protection of two very powerful families as I'm sure you're aware. Spencer has been under my protection for a very long time, even before he was a vampire and Dave added his protection after they had met. Wearing these should stop many things from happening that might have in the future, as even most mortals recognize our crest and understand the significance of them," Aaron explained

"This is not true of everyone of course, so if something should happen to you or any child of yours that Spencer can't handle on his own he can call on us at any time and we'll come. I know not much can harm a vampire, but you never know the evilness that some people will do. These rings protect you and your future children, as we will come down on any offenders like the hammer of the gods," Dave added.

"I was raised within the vampire community, so I understand the significance," Rosa promised.

"Good, never take them off," Dave said.

"Or at least always wear them in public," Aaron added.

"If it's okay with you I'll have a necklace made with both crests," Spencer offered. "A necklace will be more visible then rings, so long as it is worn over any shirt or blouse."

"That's a good idea, so we'll have it done ourselves," Dave decided, but Aaron nodded in agreement.

Spencer wanted to protest he stopped himself knowing that it would do any good so he didn't bother.

Rosa put on the rings on the correct fingers and both Dave and Aaron nodded approvingly at this.

"Good, now that that's been done it's time for all of us to part ways for awhile," Aaron said.

"You just want to get Persephone alone," Dave teased him.

"And you don't want to get Penny alone?" Aaron asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"We've had plenty of time alone, even while on holiday," Persephone finally said slapping Aaron lightly on the arm.

"Besides, alone time is more important to Spencer and Rosa than it is to us four," Penelope added grinning at Dave's adorable pout.

"Penny's right you know," Aaron said smiling at his old friend. Dave had cheered up considerably after the anniversary of his original mate's death and gone back to being a gentleman. It had never occurred to Aaron that the reason Dave wasn't acting normally was because it was approaching that anniversary. Now though, that they had honored the woman that had been Dave's mate or at least the memory of her, since Penelope technically was her, Dave had cheered up considerably and the guilt, rage and sorrow he had been feeling had been put back into it's box.

"Yeah, she is," Dave finally admitted seeing that his pretend pout wasn't having the desired effect on his mate.

"We'll see each other again," Persephone offered. "Penelope and I are going to start girl time and hopefully Rosa can join us for at least some of them so long as Spencer comes along of course."

"I don't see why not. I don't see why I can't keep myself entertained for a few hours while Rosa's busy. She might not be able to stay for all of girl time for a few decades anyway, but that will eventually change," Spencer said finally

"So we'll pick activities that don't take more than a few hours for the next few decades," Penelope said. "The important thing is to spend time with each other without our men around."

"I think it such a good idea that it's something you should've instituted several decades ago," Aaron offered.

"And while you institute girl time, even if that's only for a few hours or even a week I think us boys will institute the same thing just to spend time with each other without our mates. I agree that it's something that we should've thought of doing several decades ago," Dave said.

"Especially now that the bond between us has matured to the point that it will do no harm to be separated for more than a few hours," Aaron said.

"Which unfortunately doesn't include Spencer and I at least at the moment," Rosa said.

"Your bond with Spencer will get there," Penelope said.

"The next couple of decades will pass really fast, you'll see," Persephone added.

"Yeah, they will as before I knew it 50 years was gone in what seemed to be a blink of an eye," Penelope remembered. "Dave and I certainly enjoyed ourselves in those five decades, though it didn't help that he was often gone for his work with the BAU. It seemed like we were constantly making love whenever Dave was home and I couldn't blame him for wanting to do that considering he was often gone for days."

"Which isn't the case with you and Spencer, since all of us have been retired for a long time," said Aaron.

"You're probably right," Rosa finally said smiling.

Finally the six of them departed for their separate planes and therefore, their separate destinations, but before they did the ladies had already determined when the first girl time would take place, which would be in six months and that meant sometime in July. Though they had decided to see each other again in six months, it was undecided as yet what they were going to do, but they had plenty of time to make that decision and also determine what they were going to do with their children who would be born by then.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

March 23

San Francisco

"Come on, sweetheart, you can do it," Aaron urged his mate. "You've done this on multiple occasions already, so it should be easy for you to get these children born."

Both Aaron and Persephone were aware that they were going to have at least twins, simply because they always had either twins or triplets. Both of them suspected that the reason for this was because Persephone and also her twin sister Penelope had a great deal of werewolf blood from their mother and werewolves had multiple's all the time, because in that way they were very similar to their real wolf counterparts. Also the fact that Persephone was a twin upped the odds of having multiples as well.

With Aaron's encouragement ringing in her ears Persephone pushed, as hard as she could and suddenly there was a cry of an infant.

"We have a beautiful healthy son," Aaron said as soon as he had cut the umbilical cord. "You just need to push a few more times and you'll have your second child."

Persephone did as a Aaron encouraged her to and soon there was the cry of another infant.

"We have a beautiful little girl love," Aaron said as soon as he had caught the baby that slid out his mate's womb and cut the cord.

"My stomach is still bulging, so I have at least one more baby in my womb," Persephone said.

"Well, you know what to do," Aaron told her with a gentle smile, kissing her tenderly on her dry forehead for vampires couldn't sweat. That didn't mean however, that Persephone couldn't get exhausted. "I have a pitcher of that artificial blood all ready for you as soon as our last child is born."

Persephone nodded and her expression turned determined. Persephone pushed down and then stood at the end of the bed watching everything. "Come on, love, he or she is almost here.

Persephone pushed down again and Aaron watched the entrance to her birth canal carefully. "Just one more push should do it and then the baby will be here," Aaron said.

Persephone did as ordered, even though she felt as if every bit of energy had been drained from her body, but suddenly there was a cry of an infant.

"You did it love," Aaron said. "We have another beautiful little boy."

Aaron placed the baby in the cradle that had been set up for him, just as he had done for his brother and sister before turning back to his mate. "Here you go sweetheart, just drink straight from the pitcher, since I know you're exhausted and don't worry about your manners. Besides, I think you deserve not to worry about anything for at least a day or two considering."

Persephone did as ordered knowing that Aaron truly wouldn't think her unwomanly with the manners of a pig if she did so. Aaron had told him more than once if there was any time to forget about her manners it was right after she had given birth. He didn't care if she drank out of a glass or the pitcher, especially not after she had been in pain for hours giving birth to their children. Persephone was grateful for his understanding, because she knew many men would have thought she had no manners at all if she had done something so uncouth, no matter what condition she was in at the time. Of course, she also knew that many men wouldn't bother to help her give birth either, so she was even more grateful to have a mate since they couldn't always find a doctor that was a vampire in the city they had decided to settle in.

"Feeling better?" Aaron asked, as he stood his mate's side running a gentle hand through her blonde hair.

"Much better," Persephone promised feeling new energy course through her body. "What I need now is a shower, but before I do we need to feed and wash the children."

"I'll take care of that if you want to go get a quick shower," Aaron offered. "I can certainly understand your need to get clean considering the hours of labor you just went through."

"Well… If you're sure…" Persephone said, looking uncertain.

"I'm sure," Aaron promised. "You know I can handle it."

"It's not a matter of you being able to handle it," Persephone immediately protested. "I just feel guilty for leaving you to handle all three of them on your own."

"I know that too," Aaron said smiling. "You'll feel much better once you're clean, so I want you to go get a shower. Most people don't like feeling dirty, even if it's all in their heads, but in your case you're covered in your bodily fluids, even if vampires can't sweat."

"Alright fine, I'll be quick," Persephone promised.

"Take your time I can feed these three and clean them up," Aaron promised smiling. Actually, if truth be known Aaron wasn't just smiling he was flat-out grinning from ear to ear he was so happy.

"You know now remember why I wanted to stop having children for awhile," Persephone said suddenly. "It was the intense pain associated with giving birth that made me want do not get pregnant for a few decades at least."

"Yes, unfortunately, even vampires can't avoid having pain when they're giving birth, even if we're invulnerable to damn near everything. Unfortunately, giving birth is a natural process and I think that God decided that if our females were going to have children then you needed pain to go along with it," Aaron theorized.

"Probably just to remind us that we're human," Persephone snorted. "Well, most people are human or at least mortal, which means they will eventually die," Persephone corrected a moment later. "In our kinds case, I think God decided that if we were going to be invulnerable to most anything well, that our pain would be even more intense when it came to childbirth as a way to remind us females not to get to full of ourselves."

"We don't have filters on our nerves unfortunately," Aaron sympathized. "Whenever somebody manages to cause us pain we feel it much more intensely than anyone who is mortal. There are other ways to hurt our kind as you know, though I admit it doesn't happen often."

"Yes, I'm well aware that there's not many things that can hurt us. Mostly other vampires," said Persephone and Aaron nodded because it was true.  
"Still, we got three beautiful children out of the deal so I would hope it was worth it for that fact alone," Aaron said. "Believe me, if I could share the pain with you I would, but unfortunately, that's not possible."

"I know you would and it makes me love you even more," Persephone said. "It's also what makes you so unusual among other men I've met mortal or otherwise."

"I don't think I'm all that unusual," Aaron said. "Any man that loves their wife as much as I do you would want to share the pain with her if only so he could lessen it at least somewhat."

"There's not many people out there that would be willing to do that, but then I understand the point you're making. Most men would be running in the other direction if you even suggested that they share the pain of childbirth with their wife," Persephone said quietly, very grateful that she had met Aaron Hotchner two centuries ago. She still believed that he was one of the most unusual men he had ever met, but then so was his friend David Rossi her sister's mate, so maybe it had to do with the fact that both of them were centuries old. It was probably a mystery she would never be able to solve and it didn't really matter if she did.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," Persephone finally said kissing Aaron on the cheek before she headed for the shower.

Aaron watched her go smiling feeling so happy and contented that it was nearly surreal, but then he had felt like that at odd moments for 200 years now, so he was used to it. That didn't mean however, that he wouldn't always be grateful to have Persephone Garcia Hotchner in his life.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"Meet your godchildren," Aaron introduced the three children to Rosa and Spencer.

"Oh, they're just the cutest things," Rosa cooed, as she took the only little girl from Persephone's arms.

"Yes, they are adorable," Penelope agreed, as she held her newborn son.

All three couples had had triplets and they felt truly blessed. Really, the only difference was in the sexes of the children. Aaron and Persephone had had two boys and a girl, Penelope and Dave had had two girls and a boy, while Spencer and Rosa had had all boys, though they had hoped for at least one little girl. They hadn't gotten their wish this time, but there was always next time.

"Thank you for naming me as a godmother I really appreciate it considering you hardly know me," Rosa told both couples, feeling honored to be named the godmother to six different children that belonged to the two couples that were quickly becoming good friends, especially the women.

"We know you well enough to know you're a good person and you'll make an excellent godmother," Dave offered.

"Spencer is already godfather to a lot of our children and it just makes sense to make you the godmother since the two of you are mated after all," Penelope added.

"You can expect to be godmother to a lot of our children," Persephone added.

"All of us are so happy that Spencer finally met his mate, as he's certainly been happier in the last few months then I ever remember him being before," Aaron offered.

"Next time Aaron and I have children it will be Dave and Penny's turn to be godparents, though hopefully, not for at least a few years."

"And then, it will be our turn after that," Spencer told Rosa who nodded agreeing it was a good system.

"There's really not that many people we know that we trust, not enough to name them godparents anyway," Dave explained. "I think we're incredibly lucky, all of us, that we have each other. Many of our kind aren't so lucky to have so many people that they're close to, not other vampires anyway."

"Yes, I know and agree," Rosa said. "I do have a few girlfriends, but I don't see them as much as I would like. Still, they do tend to pop up occasionally. So what did you name these cuties?"

"Well, we had a relatively hard time picking out names," Persephone admitted looking at Aaron. "We've had so many children over the years, that it's kind of hard to be original. Still, there're thousands of beautiful names from around the world, so we bought a ton of those baby name books and read them. "So we decided on Queran, which means dark and Fabion and was the name of several Roman emperors and quite a few saints for the boys and Abella, which means breath for our little girl.

"For Dave and I we decided in Yalena, which means light, Zuria, which means white, lovely and Altair for our only little boy, which means cheerful, glad or happy.

"Well, it looks like we all picked rather unusual names," Spencer said. "That's not really surprising though, considering how many children that the four of you at least have had between you."

"So what names did you pick for your three sons?" Penelope asked.

"Well, like the four of you we had a hard time deciding, but finally we came to an agreement. Rosa loves the Arthurian legends so we named one Cador who was the nephew of Arthur and another Balen, which means brave. I got to pick up the last one know and I decided on Jair spelle R, which means, my light and is American."

"Jair is more common nowadays, than it was back in the 20th Century at least spelled like that, as Jair is usually short for names like Jeremy and Jeremiah," Persephone said. "I don't think I've ever met anyone named Balen or Cador."

"Alright, so what if they aren't used much?" Rosa shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. I mean why use a name's that's been used a million times before like Daniel, Jeffrey or Harold?"

"You know that's a very good point," Dave commented. "You didn't mention my name or Aaron's but they are still quite popular, even in this century."

"We might eventually use names like that," Spencer said. "As for your names they are classical much like Diana or Elizabeth, so they'll likely always be popular. Some names just remain popular throughout time while other's don't."

"I agree with that," Penelope said. "Your names are just too to classical to ever die out like some others."

"Not to mention nobody looks at you weirdly when you tell them your names, because they're quite common," Persephone added. "Most people don't know what thing about Greek myths and have never heard of the Persephone that was married to Hades the God of the underworld. Some people look at me with genuine sympathy for having such a weird name and I'm sure they think that I hate it or at least strongly dislike it when I really don't. At least Penelope's name can be shortened to Penny, but mine can't be shortened at all."

"Personally, I think your name is very pretty," Spencer told Persephone. "Yes, it's rather unusual, but then so is mine or Rosa's for that matter, her full name anyway."

"People with unusual names tend to have more character as a general rule anyway, although this is not always true of course," Aaron said. "A person with an unusual name tend to have more to live up to, though I've never understood why. It's just human nature."

"Even Penelope is not all that common, though I admit it's more common than Persephone," Penelope said. "The derivative of Penny is more common then Penelope and is often used as a regular name and not just a nickname."

"Well, they will grow into their names at some point," Aaron said smiling. "If you ask me more common names are overrated, though I know that all of us will likely use them at some point."

"Oh, by the way we forgot to mention that we wanted to name Aaron and Persephone godparents this time and the next time that Rosa and I have some children it will be Dave and Penny's turn," Spencer announced.

"We're honored," Aaron said and Persephone kissed his cheek in thanks for the honor.

"And I'm disappointed," Dave pouted playfully. "I would think Penelope and I would have been first considering I'm the one that turned you into a vampire all those decades ago now."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Spencer said smiling. "If we'd had four children instead of three or even just two it would've been easier to split them between you and Penny and Aaron and Persephone."

"But as we got an uneven number we felt it would be wrong to name two different sets of godparents, because one couple would get one and the other two," Rosa said.

"We felt that this would be unfair," Spencer added.

"Oh, give it a break, Dave you know they're right," Penelope told her mate in a exasperated tone. "We'll have our opportunity in a few years."

Dave immediately left off pretending to be upset, because for one thing he really wasn't and for another he didn't need his mate's ire. It wasn't often that Penelope got mad at him, but occasionally it did happen and he didn't want to be forbidden from having sex with her for at least a week. This was about as long as his mate could hold out when it came to them fucking each other senseless, but he also knew that Penelope was stubborn and would probably hold out at least another week just to prove a point. It was certainly possible now that the bond was more mature than it had been last time she had been mad at him, but still, he wasn't willing to take the risk.

"You will only have to wait a few years," Rosa told Dave smiling. "Considering how fast I got pregnant this time I doubt it will be more than three or four years before I get pregnant again and the time will pass fast. I only wish there was a way to prevent myself from getting pregnant when I don't want to be."

"That's what Penelope may have been wishing for decades now," Persephone revealed. "On the other hand, Aaron and I haven't had a child in 50 years before we had the triplets and Dave seems to think that it's related to the fact that we didn't give to any charity during that time, especially those that are a affiliated with the church."

"I'm not sure I believe that's the explanation," Rosa admitted. "I suppose it's possible."

"Well, why don't we just test out that theory when we want to stop having children for awhile," Spencer suggested. "We'll stop donating entirely and if we don't have any children in say ten years and I would say it works."

"There is an idea," Rosa said brightening.

"I firmly believe that Aaron's right," Dave said. "Penny I just suddenly stopped giving to any charities, because we couldn't find any that we were really passionate about like ones helping children. The ones that we were giving to went out of business for one reason or another and in some cases they were no longer needed, but that wasn't true or most of them."

"Yeah, unfortunately, that happens all the time," Spencer said.

"I suppose that if all of you stopped giving to charity and that's when you stopped having children every few years then it's possible that someone is watching us and respects generosity to those that need help," Rosa said, still feeling doubtful that that was the explanation  
"I know it's a hard concept to believe in because not as many people are deeply religious anymore," Dave told Rosa. "Back when I was born religion was part of everyday life and not just something that you did once a week. It was a way of life more or less, but that's changed a lot over the last few centuries and a lot of things influence the lack of faith in mortals."

"I believe we'll test out your theory next time we don't want to have any children, but that won't be for a long time," Rosa said.

"Which is okay," Spencer said. "I'll be happy to test out that theory sometime but not now considering that these are our first children ever, something I never wanted when I was mortal, because I would've passed on the werewolf gene and that wasn't something I was willing to risk."

Spencer didn't mention his mother's schizophrenia, but everyone in the room was aware that was another reason that Spencer had never had children or even gotten married when he had been mortal, so it didn't actually need to be spoken out loud.

None of them could really blame Spencer for that either, because he'd had a front row seat to watch his mother fade little by little as the schizophrenia took her over more and more as the years progressed.

"Here why don't you help feed these precious darlings, as the job won't take as long if we all participate," Penelope suggested.

"It's not like I need to practice Penny," Spencer said smiling a little. "I have three of my own after all that were born about the same time yours were, except for a couple of days."

"Still, Penny's right, a lot of hands make light work and the task will be faster," Persephone said.

"Well, I suppose it's about time to feed ours anyway before they start wailing loud enough to bring down the house," Rosa said smiling.

"That's not really possible, although I know it will probably seem like that since there are nine of them," Aaron said smiling. "Still, we have to be grateful that they cry a lot less than mortal children as they only do so to be fed and because they want attention."

"We also should be grateful that they don't have any of the problems that mortals do colic for example," Spencer said.

"That's true," Dave agreed wholeheartedly.

"So let's get this lot fed so that they won't start wailing as if the world coming to an end. They're only a few weeks old, but still it won't be long before they're past the stage of being fed out of bottles."

"No, that stage doesn't last very long about 3 months," Persephone agreed. "I'll go fix some bottles."

"I'll help you, as it won't take as long with two of us," Penelope immediately offered.

"I'll help too and that way we can get it done faster," Rosa said.

The three women disappeared into the kitchen and the men watched them go with amused smiles.

"You're very lucky you know that don't you Spencer?" Aaron asked his former subordinate. "Rosa is a wonderful person and you're extremely lucky to have found her."

"Believe me, I agree with you a hundred percent," Spencer said smiling in the direction of the kitchen. "She's already made my life so much better than it was before and I'll always be grateful that we literally bumped into each other that day in New Orleans."

"And you should be because finding your mate isn't very common," Dave offered. "The world is a very big place after all as there are billions of people in it."

"Not to mention the colonies on other planets, which lessens a vampire's chances of ever finding their mate considerably," Aaron added.

"Yes, I know," Spencer promised. "I'll be grateful every day that we found each other. I'm certainly glad though, that you all like her so much, since you are my family."

"I like her a lot," Dave said. "I'm sure we'll become closer over time. As for Penny I can tell you honestly that she adores Rosa and is looking forward to those girl time vacations that they talked about."

"Yes, I like her a lot too and I'm sure we'll also become closer at some point," Aaron agreed. "Persephone also likes her a whole lot and I'm sure that Rosa will become as close as a sister to our mates over time."

"It takes time to become close with someone," Spencer said calmly. "I mean the three of us worked together for many years along with Penny and all of us became close doing that time, but we also faced danger together, even if a vampire can't be killed by bullets."

"But we can be killed by fire and if you will remember we were in that explosion that one time," Dave said, as he actually shuddered as he remembered. "That was way too close for comfort and Penelope sure did yell and scream at me about it afterwards. I couldn't even blame her, since I know very well I scared her nearly to death. She made me swear to be more careful in the future."

"I definitely agree with that," Aaron said not liking to remember how he and the rest of the team had nearly been blown up once. "I got yelled and screamed at by Persephone to when she heard from Penelope about the explosion and how close I had been too getting myself blown up, which is something I prefer never to repeat."

"Neither do I," Dave immediately agreed grimacing as he remembered his mate's anger. "I don't ever want to scare Penelope like that again and not just because of the yelling and screaming, but because it would destroy her if she lost me. I would be perfectly happy if her lecturing me for hours about being careful never happened again, but lets be realistic, it's bound to happen again at some point."

"Well, we're no longer members of law enforcement in any form, so I don't think we need to be too concerned about being caught in something like that again," Spencer offered, kissing one of his beautiful son's on the forehead grateful that he had survived or he never would have met Rosa or had his three sons.

"Disappointed that you didn't have any daughters?" Aaron asked, as he watched his former subordinate.

"A little, but not much," Spencer said sincerely. "This is only the first time that Rosa has been pregnant since we met. We'll have plenty of opportunities to have daughters, though I'm afraid that males run rather heavily in the Reid line. Still, the odds are in our favor, as Rosa will never get too old to have children, so I'm not to worried, you know? I would've loved to have at least one daughter, but that just didn't happen this time and it's not like either Rosa or I can control what sex we're going to get."

"That's a very mature attitude," Dave said approvingly, not really surprised at Spencer's answer, as he had always been more mature than his years would seem to indicate, even back when he had been mortal.

Spencer just shrugged not responding.

"He's always been really mature and you know that, Dave," Penelope said, as she came out of the kitchen carrying nine bottles on a tray.

"Yes, he has," Aaron agreed immediately. "Even when he joined the FBI at just 23 he was much more mature than a lot of the older agents."

"Alright, enough of the praise," Spencer finally protested. He would have been blushing if it was possible to do so. "Let's just get these nine fed before they start bringing down the house with the sound of their wails."

Everyone else except Spencer exchanged glances when he wasn't looking, but the subject was dropped for the moment as they all took a bottle to feed one of the children it not mattering who's child it was.

The older adults chatted to each other as the babies sucked their bottles dry at a rapid pace and Rosa couldn't help smiling as she observed the scene while joining in the conversation.

This was what family should be and she was looking forward to getting to know all of them better and she had plenty of time in order to do so.

It had definitely been the best day of her life when she had met one Spencer William Reid and she couldn't wait to see what the future would bring.


End file.
